Divine Retribution
by Irish Ghost
Summary: Sister of the right hand of God... Former apprentice of Hell... Ariel and Afriel: two people in one form. She is ordered to help Dean Winchester in his quest, but then she is pitched against Heaven's worst enemy. Heaven or Hell: what a choice... AU
1. Another Day

Elizabeth Ariel Godson walked down the streets of New York City, a casually dressed older woman with the air of old powerful blood hanging about her, without a care or a purpose for maybe the sixth time in the entire length of her service. It had been a long service here on Earth, but something inside of her knew that it was coming to an end soon, be it faith or intuition, or maybe both. Gazing at the humans around her, she kept a watchful eye on them all as they passed her by, all of them honed into their technologies and their jobs and their families, not aware of what was walking among them either good or evil. She had something greater than that to keep her going day after week after month after year after decades and centuries. She had undying faith in her Father that she would be called back to her home in due time, when he felt that she was ready. Until then, she was to serve in the capacity that her Father had for her: to heal and to watch over those humans who she could save, and then to give up unto the Father the souls of those who could not be. That was the plan for her, for now at least.

But even she had her moments of doubt, even after all of this time. Well, who could blame her, after the bombshell that her Father dropped on her the last thing that she had seen him. Faith took her only so far, and then love took over. She owed her Father everything, but that... that was the worst thing that he could ever say to her. After what had happened to her for those long years, to reveal that... it nearly shattered her. It was only when she released her second half from her incarceration, and had that familar presence with her all the time to strengthen her and steel her spine. Even now, she could feel her shadowy presence inside of her.

"Dr. Godson!" A long-timer nurse called her out as she walked through the doors of New York Mercy Hospital, interrupting her reverie. "Why are you in today? You're not on call." Among the doctors, Elizabeth Godson (the name that she had chosen to reveal herself to the humans as) was the one to whom they looked to for answers or changes in the hospital hierarchy; she was always there with a laugh and a smile, to kick your butt if you were out of line, and when it was needed, a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen to your troubles. She had worked here in Mercy's ER department for thirty-five years, the longest tenure in the hospital to date. As such, she was the person to go to for anything, from advice to assistance to mentoring. She spent almost all of her time here, making this place comparable to a second home.

"It's all right, Daphne. I need to work. My home is this hospital." That was always the explanation that she ever gave whenever she came in for extra shifts, which was almost every day. Among her human colleagues, she was the eccentric one, working fifteen hour shifts non-stop and then coming back within hours to do it all over again; she sometimes even worked pro bono hours just to help the hospital out, and if that was not out of the realm of normalcy, no one else knew what was. Still, she worked with a smile in her heart and an drive that most marathon runners could envy.

"Okay, then. We've got a trauma coming in: MVA with four vics, one major. ETA's ten minutes." When the call came out, Elizabeth ran down the hall to the locker room. Making sure that the door was locked behind her, she materialized out of her jeans, white wife-beater, and leather jacket; with a second of thought, she dressed the form of her vessel in the black sneakers and the sea-green scrubs, hospital issue; she double-checked the pant leg pockets to make sure that her tools (needed for the deception, for who could explain a human who could heal all with a simple touch of her hand) were there and that the stethoscope was draped properly around her neck. Finally, she reached for the small silver cross that rested in the hollow of her throat; it was the one vanity that she allowed herself.

She had seven minutes before the trauma came in as she came out of the room and checked the Swiss Army watch at her right wrist. "Daphne, do we have the trauma rooms open and stocked?"

"Yes, Doc. It's been quiet, so far." She looked through the three charts on the desk. Indeed, it had been quiet.

She chuckled as she ran out to meet the ambulance; the sirens were roaring nearer and nearer to the emergency bay. "Never say 'never', Daphne." The sirens of all of the ambulances coming in grounded her to the task at hand.

"What you got for me?" She helped to pull the stretcher out and began her visual assessment. The paramedic smiled slightly at the sight of the ever-working doctor before rattling off the bullet.

"MVA vic, 12 year old male, contusions to chest; head lac to frontal lobe, but he's alert and aware. Vitals stable. BP 120/80, resps 20 and regular, pulse 78 and going strong." The paramedic looked down at the boy for a moment as he asked after his mother. "He's going to make it, and so's the mother. The major's in the ambulance behind us."

"Okay. Peter!" She yelled to the attending; he was just coming outside with a determinedly grim look on his face. "Get him to Exam Two. Need a c-spine, chest x-ray. Make sure that his airway is secured and that he won't crash in the next twenty minutes. Run the call." Turning back to the boy, she leaned down and talked to him. "Your mother's coming in, son. Don't worry." When the attending came and took the little boy away, she turned back to the major. She got out of the way as the paramedic from the bus continued CPR on the ground.

"MVA major, 4 year old female, LOC when we got there; contusions on chest; broken right radius-ulna, and an open right tib-fib. Splinted in field. Severe blood loss from glass in face and arm; probable nicked brachial, femoral, and radial arteries. Heart stopped two minutes ago, two mgs of epi in the field, no response. Strung a line, 200 ccs bolus of normal saline. BP 97/64, pulse was weak and thready, pupils equal and reactive."

"Okay!" She took the stretcher and ran through the doors of the ER. "Get her to Trauma One!" She could sense three nurses and another attending following her, but her mind was on the little child beside her. Elizabeth felt the life force draining her; with all of her skills, she would not let this one die on her, not a little girl.

"On my count! One, two, three!" The nurses and the new attending helped her to lift the little girl off the stretcher and onto the gurney, and then all of them went into motion. "All right, tube her and get her on a 12-lead! Hang three units of O-neg, then get nine units type and cross. Need a chest, spine, pelvis, right arm, and right leg! Get x-ray in here yesterday! CBC, chem-7, tox-screen, heel stick for glucose! Donna, continue compressions! Get Ortho down here, now!"

When she was in control of a trauma, Dr. Godson morphed from a kind woman to a staff sergeant, her voice strident and intimidating enough to make the most experienced drug dealers and gangsters loose their bowels. Uriel, one of her younger brothers, would shake his head at her for even trying to save the "mud monkeys", as he referred to humans. To her, these humans were her Father's art, his beloved, and nothing would stop her from saving as many as she could so that they could live full lives before being called back to her Father. As she listened to the girl's lungs, she heard no fluid; a good sign, at least.

"Got a rhythm! Sinus tach, pulse 98 and strong at carotid." There was a sigh of relief as the little girl opened her eyes. Elizabeth looked at her, before the girl closed her eyes again and the monitor beeped.

"Doc, stats are dropping! She's bleeding from somewhere!"

"Suture up her femoral artery now! Be careful with that fracture!" Taking a look at the kid and the bruised abdomen that wasn't there before, she yelled again, "Thoracotomy tray!" She cut open the kid's chest, and out came a torrent of blood from the spleen, right underneath her left lung. "Ruptured spleen! Call the OR! Start a Thora-Seal for the hemo on the left side!" The attending rushed to do the procedure, but the child flat-lined again.

This child was going to die, no matter when the labs came in or how fast the surgical team could get to her. She had no choice. As she yelled at the attending to start CPR and for the nurses to prep the crash cart, Elizabeth accessed her powers (she used it so rarely these days, relying instead on the knowledge that she had gained over her service) and channelled it to her palm. It felt like warm water lapping against her hand, like the waves of the ocean that she had seen before. She just touched the child lightly on the forehead, pretending to look at the glass embedded in her face. When she let her powers flood through the child, she held her breath until she felt the girl's life force increase. There was a beep on the monitor, and the nurses' voices came back into her hearing with a muffled update.

She could not pay them attention, instead just nodding. After that, everything blacked out as she felt herself hit the floor.

* * *

"Doc Godson!" Someone was thrumming their knuckles against her sternum, trying to get her to respond. "Doctor Godson!" Her eyes hurt to open, but she forced them to anyway.

"Wha... what happened?" She took Peter's hand to stand up on unsteady feet, mindless of the blood on her scrubs and gloves. The trauma room was empty of everyone; where were the nurses? More importantly, where was the child?

"You blacked out, Doc, for a moment. You didn't stop breathing and your stats were normal, so we dealt with the little girl first. I keep telling you to cut back on those pro-bono shifts, get some sleep like normal people do." The one thing that was different between she and others of her kind was that she was able to feel emotion, empathy for the humans around her. In that instance, she was easy-going with the residents and attending, having been in their shoes for many years. So, she was not upset when her attending talked to her in such a casual way.

"Thanks, Pete. How's the girl?" She looked to the empty trauma room.

"She's up in Surgery right now. Docs say that she's gonna pull through."

"Good. I'm going to head up there." She raised her hand to stop his tirade. "To observe only, Pete. The mother's going to have questions about her children, and I gotta answer those first." She stripped off her gloves and shook her head again. "But first, I need some coffee."

Rubbing the back of her neck as she sipped at her coffee at the main desk, Elizabeth read over the records in front of her. From the bystander's reports to the police officers on scene, the mother and her three children were driving through an intersection when a driver t-boned his car into them on the passenger side. The driver at fault for causing the accident was uninjured, but his BAL was through the roof. He would be spending the night in the drunk tank before being charged with four counts of attempted vehicular manslaughter and another charge of driving under the influence.

The mother had suffered a broken leg and lacerations to her face and hands. The two sons were similiarly injured, only with broken arms or concussions into the mix. The daughter was the worst injured. Sighing, she stood up and slipped on her white coat. Time to talk to some worried family. As she opened the door that roomed the mother, she noted the worried father and an older son, probably twenty-three years old, guarding their family matriach.

"Ms. Newman?" She pulled a chair over to the mother's bed. She looked over to the father and brother. "Are you family?"

"Where's my children?" The husband placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm Dr. Godson; I looked after your daughter. Now, your sons are stable. Your youngest has some cuts on his face and arms, and he's been asking for you. Your fourteen year old has a broken arm and a concussion, but he's coming out of it."

"What about Sarah?" This time, it was the son asking the question.

Elizabeth nodded. "Your daughter was seriously injured. She came in with her heart stopped, a broken arm and a broken leg, as well as some nicked arteries." She always served it straight to the families; better for them to know the truth than to sugarcoat it for them. "She's up in Surgery right now, and they told me that she's going to pull through. Your daughter's a fighter, Ms. Newman." She stood up and looked at the family. "You can visit your sons right now; they're in the next room over. I'm going up to observe your daughter's surgery and give you an update as soon as we have more to know."

"Thank you, Dr. Godson." Mr. Newman shook her hand, tears falling down his face. She nodded to them all, before leaving them alone and racing up the stairs to the OR suites. The charge nurse knew immediately when she saw her bloody scrubs who she was here for. "The Newman girl's in Theatre Four. They got everyone working on her right now."

"Thanks, Nancy!" Elizabeth hung her coat up and scrubbed up before entering the operating suite. Like Nancy had told her, the room was full of people. Dr. Whiten and Joseph Isaacs were working on reducing the leg fracture. Dr. Alexander was suturing up her side. There were scrub nurses working with all of them, passing them tools and making sure that all was working well. The anesthestiologist stood up the machine and kept track of her vitals. One of the circulating scrub nurses saw her and helped her to gown up. "Doctors."

"Ah, Dr. Godson!" Dr. Alexander looked over his shoulder to her and shook his head. "Observing or participating?"

"Observing this time. So, how is she?" She looked over at the pale girl's face.

"She's going to make it. The arteries were sutured first. Her spleen's removed, but she's healthy enough for it not to be a concern right now. All the glass is out, the wounds cleaned and sutured." He sighed for a moment. "She was hemorrhaging internally from a slight laceration to her inferior vena cava, but it was sutured up. She went through only two units before all the bleeding was under control." He pointed with his chin to the two doctors. "Whitten heard about the case and got right in with Isaacs at his side. They finished fixating the arm, and they're almost done their work on the leg. Right, Thomas?"

Dr. Whitten talked without taking his eyes from the drill in his hand. "Another screw, and we'll be done. She'll be in casts for at least two months, but she'll walk without a limp and use this arm without any problem with some physiotherapy afterwards."

Joseph Isaacs looked up at Dr. Godson with a weary smile on his face. He was a orthopedic surgical resident under Dr. Whiten, and he was under the best surgeon in Mercy Hospital. "Nice to see you, Doctor."

"You too, Joseph." She walked over and took a look at his work on suturing the arm. "Your work's improving. You using the pigskin?"

"No. Doctor Whiten has me into more surgeries to show me more procedures, and I observe while suture."

"Less yakking, more sewing, Isaacs." Dr. Whiten barked as he put the drill aside. "Maybe if you finish up without fawning over Emerg's docs, I'll let you assist in the hip replacement tomorrow beyond suturing. That is, if you can handle it?" Without another word, they all got back to work. Elizabeth smiled and left the room, stripping off her gear and getting back into her coat. She headed up to the observation room above and watched them close and send the girl off to Recovery. When they left, she headed back down to Emerg. She had a promise to keep.

* * *

Dr. Godson watched the family cry with joy as she told them about little Sarah's progress. The boys were with their mother right now, and she called for some porters to bring them up to Recovery for them to see their daughter when the nurses deemed it ready. All in all, it was a good day of work. She headed into the locker room and saw Pete studying over one of the health records. "Peter, I'll see you on Friday. Be ready for me to ride your ass for questioning me." She took a look at him, and saw him almost cry out in unfairness. "I know my limits, and I've been working this job longer than you've been alive. You are only a first-year resident, and the first lesson that you are going to learn is that those with more experience than you are here to teach you, not for you to poke fun at. It is fine outside of work, but not after an emergency like that."

She heard the door slam as he left in an undignified huff. She just shook her head. The door opened again and Dr. Hudson came through. He was an attending here for the last two years, having completed his residency under her. "What did you say to Collins?" He asked as he poured himself coffee.

"He told me how to do my job, John. Told me to cut back on working." She turned and looked at him. "I didn't eat breakfast today. My blood sugar was low and I was dehydrated. I don't need a first-year telling me what to do."

"Elizabeth, he's young. Give him a break." He held a hand up. "Still, you're right."

She closed her locker and slipped into her jacket. "I'm going home. I'll see you tomorrow."


	2. Coming Home

John left before she did, and so Elizabeth took a few minutes to get herself ready to go home. It was going through the motions for the sake of her sanity; she could have easily used her powers to summon all that she needed to her hands. But she didn't want to. She needed to unwind from the trauma. That kid... that little Sarah stayed with her. All of the children that she treated stayed with her. It was one more soul that she saved.

At one point, she looked into the mirror above the sink. This vessel was the same one that she had chosen for the four thousand years that she had served her Father. Her brown hair was combed back off her face and cut short to frame her oval gaunt face; there was some grey hair at her temples and some flecks throughout her hair, a necessary part of her disguise, for who would believe a person not to age for the fifty years that she had stationed herself in New York for? Icy blue eyes looked back at her, but they were warm when she smiled, which was often; she always wore a smile for every time that a patient was under her care. Her face was clean, free of blemishes. Small lips opened slightly to reveal straight white teeth.

Her vessel's body was nothing to shake a finger at, either. Her muscles, hidden under taut tanned skin and her scrubs (they were stained now with the blood of the girl) were toned from constant exercise: fifteen hours a day for the past four thousand years of on-your-feet walking, running, lifting equipment, moving patients, and taking the stairs would do that. On some days before she would come to work, she would run up and down the stairs of her apartment building a few times to keep the heart in shape.

Shaking her head, she checked her pockets once last time and walked out of the hospital via the ambulance bay. For five in the evening in the middle of the week, it was quiet on the roads. She never drove around, instead choosing to walk around to all the places that she needed to get to. Why bother with it, when her Father had given her a vessel with a functional set of feet to use. Besides, the small apartment that she kept was just a twenty minute walk down the street.

On the way home from the hospital, she stopped off at the pub for something to eat. The owner and bartender, Zach Aries, saw her and waved at her as she sat down at the bar. "Long day, Doc?" he asked as he poured her out a glass of water. It was a tradition of theirs: every day for the last fifteen years, she came in for a glass of water and a bowl of taco salad.

"Too long, Zach." She sipped at the water as he made her food with practiced comfort. He knew exactly how she liked it.

"Well, did you save anyone?"

She nodded her head. "Yeah, I did. A little girl. She's probably in Recovery now with her parents and brothers, talking to them." She shook her head. "No little kid should have to go through something like that."

"Was it a bad one?" He poured off a pint of stout for one of the waitresses waiting impatiently for the drink. "Relax, Sheila. Rick's going nowhere fast with the amount of booze in him." The young girl simply huffed and served the drink. "Sorry about that."

"You did nothing worth apologizing, Zach." He placed the salad in front of her. "Yeah, it was pretty bad, but if you saw the look of her face..." She bit into the salad, relishing the taste of the meat and salty chips. "It was completely worth it. Every second of it." For the rest of the time, she just sat and ate the salad quietly, watching the world go by and the people about their daily business. She placed a twenty on the bar for Zach and took off, heading back home for some much-needed rest.

She was just closing the door to her apartment when a breeze ran over the back of her vessel's neck; she just shrugged it out and looked around her lodgings. To the human eye, it was comfortably sparse. There was a futon couch that served as her bed underneath both a window and a wooden crucifix. In the middle of the room was a small wooden table, a cold cup of coffee sitting from last night. Along two walls were textbooks and journals from over the decades of her current medical career. There was a small kitchen, and her fridge was filled with healthy foods.

She was an anomaly among her kind, in that she ate. None of the angels ate; then again, they hadn't spent as much time as she had. At first, she didn't eat much beyond bread and water. Around the turn of the millennium, she tried food and found that she performed much better. It wasn't that her body needed the nutrition to function, but she found that the additional resources helped her. She was careful with what and how she did eat, however: going into excess and disrupting the careful homeostasis of her body's system was both harmful to her and detrimental to her work.

She scoffed for a moment as she poured herself a glass of water, thinking about her younger brothers and sisters for the first time in a long time. Humans thought that her kind would fly down from the skies with a prayer to help them in their hour of temptation or need. Well, some were like that. A few were like her, gifted with the powers to heal and empathize. Gabriel was their Father's messenger, or at least, he was before he disappeared. The majority of them, like Castiel and Uriel, were the warriors, who served under... _him. _Michael, her brother and the second angel ever created.

She had lovingly devoted herself in the service of her Father for all her life; she had no other choice. Being born an angel (if you wanted to get technical, she was the third archangel ever created and the first female of their kind), she rose through the ranks until she was considered to be the right hand of her brother. Where he was the sword of God, she was the healing power of God. When people called and petitioned for healing, their Father would send her to help the humans. But she would be lying if she had told anyone that she did not miss Michael.

Michael... her beloved brother. He also brought back painful memories of her other brother... Elizabeth shook her head. She tried so hard not to think of him, but every time that she thought of her incarceration, she thought of his as well.

Breathing to chase away the tears, she got down on her knees and began to pray over by her bed. She had been away from home for so long without any chance of a respite, but she trusted in her Father to know that what he was showing her, what her service had entitled her to do, was the right path and that she would not stray from the plans that her Father had in store for her. For a moment, she laughed at herself. Her Father certainly held all of the cards when it came to her, but she never expected to learn what he told her. That she was... no, she refused to think about it.

When she prayed right now, she let her Father know when and why she had used her powers. Unlike Castiel and the other warrior angels who could use them and then leave without considering the consequences, she had to use her judgment and discretion when she used her powers. She could not let that child die on her trauma table, so this time, she was covered. He probably knew already, but it felt good for her to talk to him like this, even if he never talked back, per say. It was a rather one-sided conversation, because he told her that, as a condition of her service, she would be completely removed from all of the Citadel's powers, including the ability to talk to him directly.

She did not hear the door open, nor the footsteps toward her that stopped two feet behind her. She did, however, hear the voice. "Ariel." That single word, spoken with a voice so familiar, caused tears nearly to come to her eyes as she turned to gaze up at him from her knees.

Castiel stood behind her, as stoic as ever. He had chosen the vessel of a tax accountant, but Ariel could see through that to his true beauty. His wings, pure white for the moment, were tucked neatly behind his back. His black hair and blue eyes shone with a rare emotion for him: longing. It was no secret among the angels that they were mates. Her Father had arranged it when they were both younger, and they loved each other so much. She had missed Castiel so much, almost as much as Michael and her Father.

Ariel stood slowly, making sure that this was not just simply another dream, that he was really there. Tears finally rolled down from her eyes as she placed her hand against his cheek, feeling the rough texture of the vessel's skin. This was real. Her mate was truly standing before her, and this was no illusion.

He took her hand and held it in front of him for a moment. "Ariel, Father has deemed the term of your service over. You can come home." His tone, so casual and deep, bruised her heart with its familiarity. She wanted so badly to wrap her arms around him, to hug him and for him to reciprocate. However, patience was one of her strong suits. "You will have a week's respite in the Citadel to recuperate from your service. Then both Michael and Father want to talk to you. Let's go." Taking a firmer hold of her hand, they both looked skyward.

A light slowly enveloped both of them, filling them with warmth. Ariel closed her eyes, and let the vertigo take over as they catapulted through the ceiling and into the sky. The mist of the clouds stuck to the face of her vessel as she began to shed it into her real form. It felt like the trip took five minutes as they zoomed through thousands of miles of sky, wind, and cloud to come... _home..._


	3. Welcome Back

For a moment, it was dark behind her eyes. There was nothing there except the dark. Ariel looked around and slowly opened her eyes to gaze around her to find her eyes still adjusting. She closed her eyes again, and then the light began to shine. It was dull at first, a dim glow through the skin covering her face and exposed skin. She still felt the clothes that she was wearing earlier, the blood-stained scrubs and worn leather jacket, but she didn't feel human any more.

She smiled as she felt the warmth of the light radiate her skin. It felt like compassion and joy, like a long-lost friend. Castiel had let go of her hands and she spread her arms wide to take in everything at once. She twirled around like a little mortal girl, drunk on the ecstasy of life, as she opened her eyes a second time and giggled at the white brightness. She was _home._

No longer would she be known by a facsimile of her true self; no longer would there be a need for her to hide. No longer would she have to listen to whiny residents and burned-out attendings who had long lost the passion for their jobs. Her Father had a new task for her, but it could wait the one week until after her respite.

Without a word, she walked down the halls of the Citadel of the angels; she could hear Castiel walking behind her in deference to her rank. By what other name could she call that place that she had called home, the home and refuge of every angel that served their Father? It blazed with the sun, and glowed with the moon. White light radiated from everywhere, broken only by silver and gold detailing on doors and walkways.

There were no rivalries here, except by those that held qualms with their duties. Ariel was not one of them. But then, she had not been in the Citadel for over two millennia; things easily could have changed without her. In fact, she had expected that things had changed. She just didn't know what, quite yet.

Her brothers- and sisters-in-arms, and in blood, came out into the hall and applauded her long awaited return and arrival to the Citadel; some came out from the walls and congratulated them with a stoic nod or a word or two of contentment. Others were bold enough to offer her a hug or a kiss on the cheek. Like her ability to eat and digest food, she was once again an anomaly here in Heaven because she felt emotion more so than anyone else and she had to show them. But right now, it did not matter at all to her. None of it mattered: she was home.

As she turned a corner, she saw another familiar face that bruised her heart. "Ari?" Raphael leaned against the wall, his hands crossed nonchalantly in front of his chest. She had to stop herself from barrelling into his arms.

Besides Michael, Gabriel, and Castiel, she had missed her fourth brother the most during her stay on Earth. He was her co-healer, the male version of her power, the one that stood with her as she healed her heart from the events leading to her commanded exile. While he tended to the warriors, she tended the innocents of the world, the ones whom needed healing most in order to survive the wars. They were a tandem team, always watching each other's backs. Even when she was on Earth, she could still feel him working around her, guarding her like a brother did for his sister.

"Raph." She called him by his old nickname, the one that she used to call him to cheer him up. He had a muted gift of empathy (again, still rare among the angels) and so he smiled and held out his arms when she embraced him. She rubbed her nose into the hollow of his throat, inhaling the scent of honey and sunshine that she had always associated with him. Breaking away, she stared at the black hair and dark eyes that twinkled with amusement and a hidden smile. "Are you staying for a while?"

"Alas, no." He let go of her shoulders and stared down at her for a moment. "Father has called me to the front lines to help to heal our brothers and sisters. I will be going for as long as my services are required." She refused to let the sorrow show on her face, but it rang through her heart. Perhaps that was her new mission from her Father: to join Raphael on the front lines and heal the warriors.

But somewhere, she did not truly believe it. If that was the case, then she would have been called up long before the war started to begin preparations. It took many resources to heal, even for angels. She had to gather her strengths, ferret it away to keep in reserve for times of great need. If she was to join the front line forces against the growing forces of Hell, then she would have been called back a long time ago.

"I understand." She stared out at the brilliantly white floor; she closed her eyes as she heard his footsteps down the marble hall to the entrance of the Citadel. That was always Raphael's way: to leave quietly and without drawing much attention to himself. She shook her head once before continuing on her path to her old quarters.

When she closed the doors behind her, she laughed out loud as she began to twirl once more. Everything was as it was before she was taken. The silver blanket in a corner of the room that she called her bed was still where she had left it: stuffed into a ball. She had a small basin of water for cleaning.

Against the far wall of the room was her bookcase. It was one of the few ever constructed in the Citadel: a bank of medical knowledge through the ages of mortals. This, along with the teachings of her Father, was what she had studied and learned over the millennia as she toiled on Earth, what was now embedded in the base of her brain. Her knowledge was now copied out in the tomes on the wall, making her knowledge available to all the angels who sought it out.

Taking a moment to breath, she let the final remnants of her vessel go and allowed herself to take her true form. Due to her high rank among the angels and as a gift from her Father before the start of her service, she could transform the air around her and make herself a vessel, rather than simply taking over a willing host. This made it easier for her to work. She did not like to take a human and take away their free will like that. For them to live forever as she controlled their bodies and locked away their minds? It was a complete contradiction of what she was sent to do.

She looked into the water basin for confirmation that it was complete. Her hair, once an otter brown with the distasteful grey streaks, now shone with the sunlight as a deep golden that rivalled the color of liquid gold; it now reached the middle of her back in a loose braid. The icy blue eyes morphed into the hazel eyes that her Father had blessed her with; they still were friendly to stare at, but now they showed the depth of her powers without blinding the humans who stared into them. The worn sea-blue scrubs and leather jacket were replaced with pants and a tunic of blazing white silk that contrasted with the tan of her once-pale skin. Her feet were now decked out in Grecian sandals that laced halfway up her calves; she wiggled her toes out of the restraints of the shoes that mortals saw fit to constrain their feet in. Finally, she stared at her wings.

Oh, how she had waited for the day when she would physically see them again! Soft as the fur of a kitten, the feathers were preened back and into their proper places. Humans had assumed that angel wings appeared in only white, but how wrong they were! Wings were another personification of an angel's feelings, able to change from white to pearl gray to the deepest of pitch black in a rare state of anger, however righteous it may be. Right now, Ariel's wings were an opalescent gray with her wondering feelings about the conditions of her return: a dim spectrum of the rainbow shone against the cloud-gray of the feathers as they settled against her back.

There was a knock at her door, startling her. Before her service, all her brothers and sisters knew that Ariel's door was always open if she was there for a talk, so she was perturbed by the knock. Turning away from her reflection, she walked to the door and opened it. There, _he stood before her_.

"Ariel." That deep voice, melodious and charming, caused the bruises on her heart to ache once more. Her brother waited with open arms, and she hurtled herself toward him; she pressed her nose against the hollow of his throat, this time smelling fire and air, rain and lightning: the power behind it all made his skin feel electrified. For the first time in a long time, she let the tears fall freely from her eyes as she pushed herself away and memorized her brother's face once more. It had been far too long, but she gladly would have served four thousand more years if only just to feel this sense of reunion once more. Michael sighed as she wept into his shoulder, holding her close to him. "It's good to see you, little sister."

"Michael." She hiccupped the word amidst the sighs. She gladly served her Father, but it always tore at her heart when she was separated from her older brother, the other half of her soul, for so long. She gazed up at him, so happy to behold him once more. He had a radiant smile, a casual walk and talk about him that made him different from the others. His golden-brown hair was sheared to the bottom of his ear lobes; the hazel eyes that echoed her own stared down at her with unbridled happiness at the sight of his kid-sister.

He, too, wore the white tunic and pants, but at his waist was strapped the sword of justice and truth; it was the same one that cast Lucifer and the fallen ones into the pit. He was the only warrior that did not constantly don his armour, because frankly he did not need to. Again, seeing that sword made her heart ache as she remembered her oldest brother, no longer among them.

"Ariel," he spoke as he inhaled the scent of her hair, "I've missed you so." Sighing, his face turned serious. "However, Father wishes to talk to the both of us now in his study."

_So much for shore leave_. Ariel shrugged her shoulders and followed her brother out of her little sanctuary and down the hall to the study. For once, the halls were completely silent.

"How many of our brothers and sisters have been lost, Michael?" She made her voice gentle against the sensitive subject. She knew as much as Michael did that it pained them both just as much to watch a fellow angel die at the hands of the demons, the spawn of the fallen.

"Too many, Ariel. Too many." Just like that, they were there. Michael knocked first at the closed door.

"Come in, my children." It was his voice, the voice of her Father. Ariel squared her shoulders. It was time for an explanation; she had, at least, earned that.


	4. Final Mission

The doors opened and the two archangels walked past them, their stride in sync like it used to be. If Ariel closed her eyes, it was almost like being back in time to when it all made sense. Ariel and Michael bowed in unison before the table in the centre of the room, the doors closing behind them of their own accord. This room, the study of their Father, held the breath of every bit of knowledge ever learned by the humans over time, and some that was yet to reach them. For all of its grandeur, it was not a large room. The tomes and volumes on the walls radiated with the power that Father had imbued them with. None of them, however, radiated power like their Father, who stood in the middle of the room poring over an old map.

"Come in, come in." Father never liked to stand on ceremony, and he waved them over to the table where he was standing. However, some things just needed to be observed. Looking to each other, the brother and sister walked as one before standing side by side with their Father.

"Ariel." Father put the map down on the table and turned fully to face her. Just being in the sight of him was enough to warm her heart, but also make the old wounds that she had thought were buried come to the surface. Without a word, he embraced her just as she collapsed, letting her cry on his shoulder. "I know, daughter. I know." Having much practice in consoling his children, he let her collapse in a chair and sob, her face in her hands.

"Why, Father? Why so long?" That one little insignificant word made their Father break out in tears of silver. He rubbed one of his thumbs underneath her eyes, cleaning away the silvery residue.

"Because, Ariel, you needed the service to help you get past, however much you could. However, I did save you, did I not?" Michael was so confused as he switched his gaze from sister to Father, with neither of them offering him an explanation.

"Yes." She dropped her head to stare down at her feet, the sobs racking her system. "Yes, you did. I never lost faith that you would. But..."

"Shush..." Father gathered her into an embrace; with one smooth caress of his weathered hand over her back, she was sedated. Father formed a bed for her on the ground and just let her lie there for the time being.

"What's going on, Father?" Michael knelt by his sister. "I don't understand!" Doubt never crept into his heart, but righteous anger was beginning to make his brilliantly white wing turn greyer and greyer by the second as he was helpless to save his sister from whatever she was battling on the inside of her.

"Michael, your sister went through that length of service in order to forgive herself, to live with herself and what she had committed. Apparently, she could not do it, no matter how hard she tried. However, she has accepted that fact, which I fear is as far as she will get at this junction."

"Forgive herself of _what?"_ Michael's eyes were going from the kind hazel of normalcy to a black that almost matched his wings. His eyes had gone black only once before: when he stood by and let Kushiel descend on the world as the Angel of Death and smite all of the firstborns of Egypt.

The Father and his right hand locked eyes for a moment. Father looked at him, a growing wrath in his eyes. "That, Michael, is something that you must ask your sister. It is not my place to explain it to you. But it shall be, in time." The Father's face was clear now of the wrath, his voice strong. "Michael, my trusted son. I have one final mission for your sister to complete, before she can finally be at peace before the prophecy is fulfilled."

"I understand, Father. I will do what you ask, as I have always done." He stood straight, but his eyes wandered down to his sister's body, her tormented face calm, for now at least. "The time is coming soon, is it not? The time for the final seal..."

"Michael, when you've been doing this for as long as I have, you learn to be prepared for everything." Only a cocked eyebrow revealed anything on their Father's face."Time can only tell you so much. Believe me, he and I have had many good conversations over the years. But you must have faith in me"

Michael calmed down. Of course, Father was just being realistic. Nodding his head, he let the anger leech from his body. "What is the mission, Father?"

"It concerns Dean Winchester. Ariel needs to talk to him. He's being stubborn with Castiel and Uriel, and he, too, will not forgive himself. Ariel needs to guide him, and herself, on that path. Once that is done, then your sister can rejoin you here in the Citadel. And Dean will finally be able to fulfill his destiny." No more words were to be spoken. Father simply knelt by Ariel and touched his fingers against her third eye. She began to stir, but she did not wake. "Take her back to her room. Tomorrow, you will both leave."

"Both of us?"

"Of course, Michael. Castiel and Uriel will bicker about who to escort her back to the earth plane. So I choose you. Castiel will be with Dean, and so will Uriel. When she is safely in front of Dean Winchester, then you may return, or you may stay and listen to her tale. I leave that choice up to you."

Michael knew that the conversation was over. Bowing his head, he used his mind to jettison Ariel back to her room. With a thought, he too disappeared back to his quarters.

* * *

Her heart hurt. That was what made Ariel stir from her comatose state. Her heart was so thoroughly bruised over past events, both long ago and incredibly recent. Her mind fled to its safe haven in order to hide from the pain. That was why she was down among the humans for so long? Then her mission was not yet complete. Surely Father had something else in store for her. Turning her head slowly until she felt the fabric of her blanket on her cheek, she opened her eyes.

Composure. She just needed to regain her composure. Breathing always helped. So her inhalations brought in peace, and her exhalations took out the sorrow that carved at her heart. A few minutes like this, and she was back to normal. That part of herself was locked away, and it would be re-opened when she chose it so, and not before. But she was always there. Standing up on once-more steady feet, she gazed around her room. _This was good while it lasted_. Ariel smiled to herself as she began to revert back into a human form, an amalgamation of all of her previous vessels. Looking into the water's surface, Ariel nodded with approval.

Out of all of her forms, she enjoyed the serenity that was brought on when she took an Irish form. Mid-back length deerskin-coloured hair that was the texture of satin was held off her face with a wooden comb before falling down into an even horsetail. Her skin reverted back into a pale white, and the illumination that was part of being in the Citadel faded until it was completed gone. Her eyes were still hazel, but the contour of the eye was changed to be just a little more almond-shaped. Her face was like a porcelain doll: smooth and without imperfections. Around her neck was a simple necklace that held a pendant of chakra-coloured stones. Her form was clad in skin-tight jeans that stopped at her waist, leather sandals that laced around her ankles, two layered wife-beater shirts (one black, one white) that just stopped below the waist of her jeans, and a black leather jacket. Around her wrist was a set of bracelets, again echoing the chakra colors around her neck. She was ready once more: now all she needed to do was to wait for her escort.

It turns out that she did not need to wait very long. Michael entered her room, decking out in loose jeans, a white muscle shirt that easily shown off his angel physique, and a black leather jacket like hers. He, too, was bearing white skin, brown hair, and hazel eyes. How interesting it was when they chose similar forms for when they entered the Earth plane together. Michael said nothing, but just grabbed her hands like Castiel had done before. Both of them looked down through the floor into the earth plane, letting their Graces transport them into the world below.

* * *

"Dean." That voice, that stupid voice, woke him up from the best sleep that he had had in a long time. Dean sleepily turned to look at the clock: it read 5:18 in the morning. What kind of a person would wake another up at this hour? Then again, Castiel was not a person, per say.

"Come on, man. Come back later, all right?" Dean flipped back into bed, only to have the covers yanked off him. "Jesus! Dammit, assholes! It's freezing in here!" Dean, angry that his sleep had probably now been permanently stopped, turned on his back to see both Castiel and Uriel standing at the foot of his bed, Uriel holding the sheets.

"Dean. Come with us." Castiel, wearing that ridiculous holy tax accountant suit, was still. Uriel was trying not to laugh at the sight of Dean shivering in the February early morning.

"What? Why?" Dean curled out of bed and pulled on a shirt. He went to wake up Sammy, but Castiel stayed his hand. "No, Dean. Sam stays here. It's just you that we need."

"All right." Shrugging into his favourite jacket, he followed the angels out of the dinky motel room, across the street, and up the stairs to the local library. The door was locked, of course. Dean went to reach for his lock-pick set, but Uriel stopped him.

"Mud-monkey, stop being so anxious." He waved a hand over the nod and let the door open on its own. "Follow us."

"Uriel!" A voice came from behind his little group, a _female_ voice. Letting the hormones inside of him run wild, he turned around and expected to see another stiff angel chick. He got something much different.

Two people- they had to be angels- stood on a street that was empty moments ago. He was wearing jeans, a white shirt, and a leather jacket: nothing special. It was the girl that caught his attention. She was downright hot: skin-tight jeans, a tight white shirt that revealed much over top a black shirt, and a leather jacket that covered her lithe torso. There was a dazzling smile on her face as she began to walk toward him.

"Hello, Dean." She shook his hand. That alone made Dean's mind twist. "I see you've already been acquainted with Castiel and Uriel. Meet my brother, Michael."

"Michael? As in angel Michael? As in guy who stuffed Lucifer in a hole the last time 'round?" The female nodded her head, the smile on her face dimmed a little by something... hurt? "All right. I'll bite. Who are you?"

"My name is Ariel. And we need to talk."


	5. Heart to Heart

Dean followed the four angels into the abandoned library, wondering what the hell was going on. He was taken out of his warm bed at 5:20 in the morning, just to talk to some angel chick? Where's the thinking? Why couldn't this be done when he had some food or even coffee in his system? Albeit, she was fairly cute to look at. As he followed all of them, Dean caught himself staring at her ass as she walked, that tiny ass that was so tempting in those skin-tight jeans.

"Dean Winchester." The angel chick- Ariel, she had called herself- called out his name from the front of the group. "Don't stare at my ass." How did she know? He turned a bright red of embarrassment as the other three angels accompanying her each shot him lethal glances. Michael's was particularly lethal; it was like, "One wrong move, and I'll kick your ass where you stand." Then, he remembered that Michael was this chick's brother; that definitely made him want to behave. His face normalized but a shiver crawled down his spine.

They all stopped at a small alcove: five leather chairs surrounding an Oriental carpet, likely a fake; there was a table in the middle of the grouping, just enough to place few books or magazines for other people's enjoyment. Ariel sat down immediately and looked to the chair in front of her. "Dean. I don't bite. Come, sit down. We can at least be comfortable while we do this." Without any warning, Uriel shoved him into the seat and stood guard with the others, his face a smirk of contempt for the mud monkey. "Uriel!" Her voice, when it was angry, sounded like the baying of hounds on a hunt. At that tone, Uriel backed away and the smirk faded.

"Well, ain't this peachy." Dean twiddled with his thumbs while trying to avoid staring at Ariel; he so did not want three angry angel brothers coming after him if he flirted with the angel-chick. "So, what the hell's going on?" His face blanched for a moment, before, "Is Lucifer free?"

"Not likely." This time, it was Michael that answered. "After Anna banished Alastair to Perdition when she regained her Grace two months ago, there have been no more broken seals." He glared at Uriel for a moment; Dean knew that Uriel must have been punished for hiding Anna's Grace away like that. Michael turned his head back to Dean and continued talking. "However, Father needs for Ariel to talk to you before our campaign can become more aggressive." He moved to his sister's side and put his hand on her shoulder. "Ariel, Father told me that I could stay here or go, if you wanted me to."

Ariel placed her hand over his and looked up. "Michael. You're going to want to listen to this." With that, Michael settled into the chair next to hers, turning slightly so that he could face both his sister and the human.

She turned her eyes back to Dean and blinked once. "Dean. I apologize for the rude awakening. I'm accustomed to waking up at these hours from my service, and have not as yet adjusted myself to a more reasonable schedule." She took a breath, and her face turned serious. "I know that you've heard this so many times before, but you have to forgive yourself."

Dean decided to play hard-to-get. "Forgive myself for what?"

Ariel looked at him in a way that made him squirm like a little kid in front of the principal. "You know what I'm talking about, Winchester. Father has a plan for all of us, Dean. Why would he have asked Castiel," she pointed at the holy tax accountant with her chin without taking her eyes off of the mortal before her, "to pull you out?"

"That's funny, 'cause I've been asking that question and got squat from the angel twins over there." Anger began to flow under his skin. He _hated_ having to talk about Hell, but that was all anyone, even Sammy, wanted to talk about now.

"Dean. Alastair focused on your weak link, and exploited it. That's what gets him off." Michael grimaced at the human term, but Ariel ignored him for the time being. "What you did down in Hell, you did to survive. That's all anyone on his table can do."

"What the hell do you know about it?" That was the million-dollar question: why did everyone care so much for him?

"Because I was there."

There was silence in the room. No one even breathed. An angel gone to the Pit? Put on Alastair's table without even some assistance from the Father? Michael was the first to breach the barrier. "What?" He shook his head, the information not making any sense.

Ariel did not answer, instead she just twisted in her chair. She began to pull off the leather jacket to reveal her bared left shoulder. The angels gasped, and Dean stood up in horror. There, marring her perfect skin, was a pulsating red hand-print. Dean ripped off his jacket and lifted up the sleeve of his shirt to reveal his shoulder. Holy shit! They matched!

Ariel, with tears in her eyes, placed the jacket on the table between them and righted herself. Dean stumbled back into the chair, and Castiel, Uriel, and Michael turned away when tears began to fall from her face. Dean was scared shitless now: he had never seen an angel cry before.

"Dean, I need you to listen. Once I'm done, then you can decide what to do. All right?"

He just nodded.

* * *

Her shoulders shuddered. "It was during the Great Battle, when Michael thrust Lucifer into the Pit. I was on the sidelines with Raphael, healing the angels so that they could return to the fight. I was left alone for only a moment, when Alastair snatched me from behind. He stole my voice and my sight, and dragged me down to the Pit when Lucifer was caged and the fallen angels banished. I lost all sense of where I was, and I could not scream for help.

"I woke up, my wrists hanging from his manacles and two meat hooks keeping me in place. My wings were broken, and the pain was all that I could feel. That's when he came to me. He told me," she had to swallow back her tears, the shame of it, "that the pain I felt at that point was nothing. Then, he started."

Ariel could still feel the knife digging into her gut, twisting and shredding her innards, drawing their horrible bloody designs over her skin. The crack of the whip and the crop against her back, and the whispers of Alastair's cretins of horrible consequences if she did not scream. The heat of the fire and the burn of the brands were seared into her mind. The items that Alastair raped her with. Nothing was sacred in Hell, nothing spared her.

"His favourite exercise with me would be to pull out my feathers, one by one. If I didn't scream, then he'd cut me. If I didn't scream from the cut, then he'd whip me. If I didn't scream after all that, he would brand me. He ended up branding me all over my back." She stood up and stripped before the male angels, and turned around to show them, her arms crossed over her breasts: she had long lost her modesty, but this was something that they all needed to see.

She could hear Michael keen as he saw the sigils of Hell branded over his kid-sister's back. There were demon sigils and claw marks underneath the Seal of Lucifer. Her skin was healed, but the scars were keloided with blood, making them seem the same color as her handprint. There were scars of the flaming whip that Alastair loved to employ against her. In a word, her sister's back looked like Hell. That wasn't all: her upper arms and her torso now glowed with faded scars of knife wounds, but this were not keloided with blood. By some kind of a glamour, she had hidden them from him from he saw in back in Heaven. Was she still ashamed of them?

She slid back into her tank and jacket and stared at the silently weeping Dean. "I don't need to tell you what he did to me, Dean. You already know." Her voice was gentle, but it only made the tears come faster and harder. Dean began to hyperventilate. "I lasted four hundred years in the time of mortals, Dean. Four hundred years equals forty-eight thousand years in the time of Hell. Every day, Alastair made the same deal with me that he did for you: to torture souls, or be tortured. The only reason I held out for so long was because I prayed for help, but no help came. I was weakened by that, and I jumped off the rack without any more questions. For one thousand two hundred mortal years more I tortured the souls; that's one hundred, forty four thousand years in Hell. Dean, I grew to love it: the screams of the damned under my blade, their moans as I visited every torture upon them that had been visited upon me. I knew that if I didn't, I'd be back to the torture and then there would be no second chances.

"Slowly but surely, Dean, I became what Alastair wanted me to become. Out of my pain and my anguish was born Afriel, Alastair's best pupil and his second-in-command. He taught us everything that he knew, and we applied it willingly. The part that was Ariel hid away under shields and cowardice, letting Afriel use my body like that. Only after I was removed from the Pit could I begin to be Ariel again. Father placed her under some heavy-duty binding locks to keep her hidden; he tried to remove her from me, but found that I couldn't survive without the presence of the demon inside of me. For now she remains obedient to me because she considers me her meat-suit."

Dean could not speak. How could she be so calm about it? She was simply sitting across from him and staring at him. Why? "Wh... what happened? How'd you..."

"How did I escape?" For the first time that night, she smiled. "Father rescued me, just like Castiel rescued you, Dean. He reached down from the Heavens and pulled me out. You humans would explain it as the Great Flood of Noah, when God reached down and smote the wicked in a rainstorm of forty days. He pulled me out, and after a year of re-teaching me how to be me, he placed me in charge of the children of this world. I was to watch over them, to heal them. You see," she stared down at her hands for a moment, "they're innocent. Father wanted me to forgive myself for the innocents that I had tortured. Every ten souls that I saved, I would earn back a soul from Perdition. I have almost completed my debt: I have just one soul left. You, Dean Winchester."

She slid off her chair and got on her knees before Dean. "Dean, I know you enjoyed it. I know exactly what you went through. I'm here to tell you that you are forgiven by our Father. He has a deal for you, too." At this, all three of the angels started, but Ariel ignored them. "If you can make it through to the Armageddon, then Father will reward you handsomely, Dean."

"What?" The tears were blurring his vision, making him hear things. Nothing was making sense.

"Dean." This time, it was Michael. "She's talking about Paradise. If you can stop the Armageddon from happening, then you can guarantee a place for yourself in Paradise after your death. It is your destiny, Dean."


	6. A Question of Doubt

Ariel walked through the door of the dingy warehouse in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It had been several months since her talk with the eldest Winchester brother. Michael had returned to the front lines as the commander of their forces, but he had expressed his desire for her to remain here and discreetly watch over the elder Winchester to make sure that he did not stray from the path to redemption. Their Father had disappeared from his study, leaving Michael in charge of the heavens, and so she obeyed his orders as if he were proxy to their Father. Ariel waited, and waited, to see what choice Dean would make. And now, it had finally come down to it.

Ariel was most intrigued by their last encounter with her old demon mentor, Alastair. She had watched as Dean and Sam astral-traveled in the nearby town of Greybull, trying to find out why people had stopped dying. Summoning that child's spirit like that? Not the best idea in the world, but it did work. Since she couldn't enter the town because of all of the Enochian wards around its boundaries, she could only watch as Alastair brought out Death's Scythe. Afriel inside of her began to fight with her: they had to get their hands on that scythe and return it to its rightful owner. She knew that Alastair was lying when he told the brothers that he had gotten it from Death itself; that was an impossible act. However, when they were finished and the wards were broken and Alastair was captured by her mate, she took the forgotten scythe and kept it with her. It would most definitely come in handy later.

Right now, though, she stood in the shadows and witnessed as Castiel and Uriel told Dean that Heaven needed him to torture Alastair, to get the information about who was killing the angels, and that it was not a choice. She was worried about all of this: her sisters Armatt and Shekinah were slaughtered, both from the same garrison as Castiel. She had not seen them for a long time, but they were still her sisters. More importantly, however, the time was coming near for Dean to make his choice.

"I want to talk to Cas, alone." Dean stood up to Uriel. Scoffing, Uriel told Castiel that he would go seek revelation, that there might be some further orders for them. Dean, being Dean, told Uriel to bring back some donuts when he came back. Uriel laughed, telling Castiel, "This one just won't quit, will he? You know, I think I'm starting to like you, boy." With that, he left.

Trying to act cool, Dean turned back to Castiel with one of his smart-aleck comments. "You guys don't walk enough. You're gonna get flabby." Ariel had to hide a laugh in order to remain invisible to Castiel. She did not want to give herself away just yet.

Castiel looked confused, and at that, Ariel pitied him. Castiel had been a warrior for so long that he had forgotten what it was like to act human. Now, he was simply occupying a vessel, a tool for his angelic persona to speak through and not harm the humans around him. Ariel furrowed her brows as she thought through the earlier conversations. Why was Uriel leading Castiel? Castiel was the leader of the garrison... Her heart sank when she realized the answer, however much she disliked. Their father was so caught up in the war that he must not have noticed when one angel took control from another because he might seem weak. That must have been the situation between her mate and the one angel in the entire Citadel that she tried so hard to ignore before her banishment.

Dean, unimpressed with Castiel's lack of laughter, told him, "You know, I'm starting to think that Junkless has a better sense of humour than you do."

Castiel, still emotionless, replied with, "Uriel's the funniest angel in the garrison. Ask anyone." Ariel shook her head in the shadows. Castiel _really _needed to get out of his shell more often. If Uriel was considered the funniest, then who was the most serious?

Dean was shocked by that information, but he tried not to show it. Instead, he just moved his focus around the room and took a breath. Catching on with the situation, Dean walked forward and confronted Castiel. "What's going on, Cas? Since when does Uriel put a leash on you?" Dean truly considered himself friends with Castiel, Ariel saw from her vantage point; he was one of the few humans that she had witnessed to actually care about the angel and not just their occupied form.

Castiel got his emotions back under his control and looked at Dean with the same stone eyes. "My superiors began to question my sympathies." Ariel furrowed her brow. So, this was not simply a matter of garrison rivalries. Maybe Phanuel, the little-known last archangel of angelic judgement, had finally put his foot down. She wouldn't know, though. It had been a long time since she had spent time in the Citadel.

Dean, taken aback, retorted with, "Your _sympathies?_" It was as if Dean thought that Castiel was something other than an angel, something other than one who simply listened to orders and obeyed. The truth was, that was what an angel was: someone who took orders and followed them without question. Ariel cursed Phaneul: he hated human displays of emotion as much as Uriel did, and he despised when he saw them among the angels. He made it his personal mission to stamp out the human feelings from the angels, saying that because they were an older race and far superior to the humans (but only out of their Father's hearing), they didn't need the sticky side of emotions. Only she, Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael were above his jurisdiction, and she was incredibly thankful for that.

"I was getting too close to one of the humans in my charge. You. They feel that I've begun to show emotions, doorways to doubt. This can impair my judgement." Castiel and Dean stared at each other, and Ariel finally understood the missing piece of the puzzle. The two of them had become friends, and because of that, Castiel was starting to question and feel. As a result of that, Phanuel put his foot down without the permission of their Father. Well, she would change that... She left her thoughts and returned to the conversation before her.

Dean just was not having it, abject terror beginning to color the air around him. He walked away and faced the door where Alistair was being kept behind. "Well, tell Uriel, or whoever... You do not want me doing this, trust me."

"Want it, no. But I've been told we need it." Damnit, Castiel! Ariel wanted to run up to him and shake some sense into his emotionless stance. Angels were not mindless robots. Yes, they were supposed to follow the orders given by their Father, but they can show and feel emotion! Their Father intended for them to do so; that was the original angel: a glorified human, with their full set of emotions! Why else did humans hold dear to the misconception that they could become angels when they died? Phanuel had gone too far with his methods. This was the result of centuries of unneeded too-rigid discipline, and it had to stop in order for them to win! How else could they protect the humans that are placed in their charge if they don't understand what they go through on a day-to-day basis?

Dean was starting to show the terror in his voice. "You ask me to open that door, and walk through it, you will not like what walks back out." Ariel knew that he was reliving his time in Hell: the screams, the flame, the blood, the joy of the torture. She knew as well as Dean that neither of them wanted to relive it for fear of what would happen to them. However, neither of them had a choice.

"For what it's worth, I would give anything for you not to have to do this." That was the closest that Castiel would get to an apology.

"So," she finally walked out of the shadows and frightened both angel and man. They were both oblivious to her before; unlike some of her brothers, she chose not to make a fancy entrance with the light bulbs breaking and the wind howling. Instead, a simple appearance from the shadows suited her. "He won't do it alone." She walked up to Dean, and looked into the depths of his soul before looking back to Castiel. "Dean goes through that door, and so will I. I will not permit him to go through this alone."

For the first time that night, Castiel let the anguish inside of him show on his face. "But, Ariel..."

"Castiel." She took on the commanding tone of her voice that her brother had taught her so well. "You have your orders. I have mine." She stood at Dean's shoulder, but she communicated with Castiel through their mind so that their conversation would be private. I_ know how much you care for him, Castiel, even if you don't show it. He will get through this; that, I swear to you on my Grace. _That was the strongest oath that any angel could swear, and she did not make it lightly.

_That's not what I'm worried about, Ari. He will make it through, I know it deep in my Grace; but will he make it through whole? _Castiel's answer to her oath made her raise an eyebrow. Walking away from Dean for a moment, she wrapped her arms around Castiel and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

_If you are worried for him, then stand a vigil out here, say a prayer or two. If you feel that either of us are in danger, then you come in without question, Cas, and pull us out. You understand? _They both nodded their heads at one another before Castiel dipped his head and kissed her on the lips.

Before she had come to this decision to join Dean in the torture of her former mentor, she had conferred with Kushiel. He was the heaven's version of Alastair, peering deep into the souls of the fallen and deciding if they were worthy of heaven or Perdition; he was the deliverer of punishment for the disobedient ones in Heaven, because, oddly enough, he was Alastair's blood brother, similarly to how she and Michael and... the other were blood related as well. He had told her that Dean Winchester was one of the few humans that had confounded him in all his centuries of life. Dean wished that he could come to Heaven, but that was only possible if he forgave himself and did God's bidding. Since he could not find it in himself to forgive his acts in Hell, he felt that he was unworthy of Paradise.

Well, Ariel had witnessed that Dean could not forgive himself, but he had accepted what he had done in Hell, just as she had done by the end of her service. That was as close as either of them were ever going to get to forgiving themselves. The rest was between Dean and her Father. Within the pit of her Grace, Ariel knew that she and Dean were in this one together, for better or for worse. She walked beside Dean as she opened the locked door and he brought the cart of tools past the saddened Castiel and into their own personal Perdition.


	7. Let's Get Started

Ariel and Dean walked through that door together, Dean pushing the cart of tools in front of him as Ariel walked two paces behind his left shoulder. Ariel, feeling the terror swell inside of her at the thought of facing the torture master of Hell once more, closed her eyes for a moment. In body, she was still with Dean in that room. In spirit, she was inside of her mind. Before her stood a carbon copy of herself, only the copy bore an evil smirk and black eyes. This was Afriel, the demon born from Ariel in Hell. She was the one that everyone assumed was still trapped inside of her wrapped under layers of imprisonment sigils, but instead was truly working beside her day to day.

_"So, angel buddy."_ Afriel stood straight and looked at Ariel. _"Can I come out and play now?"_

_"Of course, Afri. Besides, you always wanted to get your blade into Alastair. Well, now you have your chance."_ Ariel surrendered her body unto Afriel and she opened her eyes once again and looked towards their target. Alastair was bound inside of an Old Enochian devil's trap; Castiel had done a good job with it. He was further immobilized with solid iron chains to a Star of David, leaving him both physically and metaphysically bound in place. He was going nowhere, as long as the trap held.

He was singing a song that she recognized as "Cheek to Cheek"; it was the song he picked up in the Dirty Thirties that he would hum during her torture to bait the 'patient', as he referred to them, into madness and screams. As soon as he spotted the both of them, he began his little ditty. "Heaven... I'm in heaven..." He was playing with them already. She looked to Dean; he was as emotionless as Castiel had become. It was a good sign, for he would need to be to get out of here in the same condition as when he came in. "And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak... when I seem to find the happiness I seek... when we're out together..." Dean looked up at him before unveiling the tools. Afriel walked over and took a look. There was holy water, salt from the Red Sea, crosses, but there were also knives of all varieties, hypodermic syringes, and other tools. She quivered at the sight. There were even scalpels; she could use those. However, Alastair was a high-level demon, one of the original Fallen; he would not break so easily.

In that, she was looking forward to see just how far it would take to break him. Dean might be on a schedule to get the information, but she wasn't. Afriel closed her eyes for a moment and a brief smile came across her face, one that neither of the males in the room saw. It would probably take a long time, but then? She had nothing but time to spare. Afriel, for a single moment, looked inside and simply stared at Ariel standing in the middle of their shared mind. The angel nodded; they had no more souls to save. Their souls were damned either way. No way was Ariel going to be able to save Dean when he didn't want to be saved. After this long, she knew when a cause was lost. Now, it was time for some fun. Afriel came out of her musing and back into the present moment.

The sight of the trolley did not stop Alastair from his song. "...dancing cheek to cheek!" He looked at them both, his greatest pupils. They were the only two to last the longest in hell, lasting as long as they could take before they broke. They were impressive notches on his belt. As was expected, he looked down at the tools and began to chuckle. He stopped after a minute, saying, "I'm sorry. This is a very serious, very emotional situation with you. I shouldn't laugh, but I mean, are they serious?" He looked from Afriel to Dean with that ever-present mocking tone in his voice, that condescending tone that made you want to throttle him if only he was not armed to the teeth."They sent you two to torture me?"

Dean looked up at him, his face as calm as a still lake. "You got one chance... one." Alastair looked at him as if he had no idea about what he was talking about. "Tell me who's killing the angels. I want a name." His voice was detached from his emotions. Afriel looked at her charge and at her old inquisitor, still hiding from Dean which of the entities in this vessel was present.

Alastair did not take the bait, though. "You think I'll see all your scary tools, and spill my guts?" Afriel chuckled on the side; true, simply asking him would go nowhere. But it was worth a shot.

Dean still seemed calm as he nonchalantly replied, "Oh, you'll spill your guts, all right. I just didn't want to ruin my shoes." She chuckled. Taking off her jacket and draping it over the side of the cart, she turned her back to Alastair and began to experiment with the tools before her. She wanted Alastair to see what he had done to her in Hell, although she was positive he had not forgotten. I mean, it was not every day that he got to torture an angel for four hundred mortal years. Dean turned serious, saying, "Now answer the question."

Alastair was unmoved by the motion. "Or what, you'll work me over?" Afriel perked her ear and cocked her head to one side as she picked up a hunting knife; she could do that. Tossing it in the air and catching it by the point, she flipped the blade to catch it by the hilt and turned back to face Alastair. "Or will you let your little angel bitch here do it for you? I mean, Dean, she does have more experience than you do."

At that remark, Dean looked over at Ariel to see how she would react. His heart stopped for a moment when he saw the black eyes staring out at Alastair, that grip on the knife like an old friend. Cocking her head, she walked up to Alastair and decked him under the jaw, cracking his head back to hit the trap. She was smiling the entire time, that catlike demonic smile riddling her face. In a moment's flash, he had seen what she had explained to him. That must have been Afriel, Alastair's greatest apprentice and the other half of her soul. But hadn't Ariel told him that the demon was imprisoned, never to come out again?

Afriel normalized back into Ariel and she continued to stand there nonchalantly. "Well, Alastair, you did teach us after all. Surely, you would know best." She looked at Dean for a moment. "Dean, Afriel and I have been working together for little over half a thousand years. Don't worry; she tells me to tell you that she is looking forward to working with you on him."

Then Alastair realized something and ignored his old pupil, turning his attention back to Dean. "Or, maybe you don't want to do the deed. Maybe, you're all scared to." He chuckled a little before leaning back against the trap.

Dean smiled back, and Ariel looked over to him. "We're here, aren't we?"

Alastair was getting irritated now. "I'm terrified. But you left part of yourself back in the Pit." Looking over to Ariel, he smirked. "She was the only one to get out whole, but that was because her Daddy rescued her." Turning back to Dean, he sneered, "We'll see if we can get the two of you back together."

Dean shrugged out of his jacket and turned away for a moment. "You're gonna be disappointed." Ariel was silent through this latter part of the entire exchange, for there was nothing else for her to add to Dean's little dialogue.

Alastair smiled and stood straight against the trap. "You haven't disappointed me yet." As Dean ignored him for a moment, Alastair seemed to get desperate. "Come on, you gotta want a little payback for everything I did to you, for all the pokes and prods." Dean continued to ignore him, but Ariel saw something flicker in his eyes. "No? Then how about... all the things I did to your daddy?

Ariel flicked her eyes over to Dean. He looked up at the wall; Alastair had hit a nerve and he knew it; so he did what he did best: manipulated it. "I had your dad on my rack for close to a century."

Dean tried to keep his hands busy, but Ariel cocked her head as if she was interested in what the demon had to say. "Can't stall forever."

Alastair ignored him completely, going down his little trip of memory lane. "John Winchester made quite a name for himself. A hundred years; very impressive for a mortal. After each session I'd make him the same offer I made you: I'd put down my blade if he picked one up..."

Dean's voice raised ever so slightly. "Just give me the demon's name, Alastair."

Alastair continued to ignore him, too engrossed in reliving his conquest. ".. but he said _Nein_, each and every time ... I couldn't break him. Pulled out all the stops. But John, he was made of something unique, the stuff of heroes. And then came Dean. Dean Winchester. I thought I was up against it again. But, daddy's little girl, he broke. He broke in thirty. Ah, just not the man your daddy wanted you to be, huh, Dean?" Ariel could feel the air begin to charge.

Alastair continued to talk. "Although, neither of your Winchester boys would compare to little Ariel here. Four hundred mortal years on my rack, Dean: forty eight thousand years in Hell to break her. She must have had her Wheaties that morning before coming down to my Pit. However, Afriel left her mark on Hell. She would have become the next me if her dear little Daddy hadn't busted her loose and undid all my precious hard work." Ariel looked over to Dean: he was taking a swig from the whiskey bottle on the tray, but his hands were still calm.

That was the thing, though. Father hadn't undone anything about her. Going through that banishment, service, whatever you call it? It taught her, truly, only one thing: that it was survival of the fittest. Sure, she could try her best to save souls, and she did save many. But how many more died? Afri had counseled her on it, gotten her used to the idea of death being beyond her control. Plus, making those that enjoyed other's suffering face their own torment was, quite frankly, rewarding in many ways. As long as she saved their soul before they died, they counted towards the impossible tally that Father had given her.

Dean finally was ready, and she shook her head to bring herself back into the moment. Taking up a chalice, he opened up a jug of holy water and began to pour it out. Alastair was impressed. "Now we're getting somewhere." For a moment, he didn't comprehend Dean's plan, but he just saw the water and grew immediately disappointed. "Holy water? Come on. Grasshopper, you're gonna have to get creative to impress me."

Ariel came around behind Dean and let Afriel take her over once more. Getting a better hold on the knife, she entered the Devil's Trap and drew its tip along Alastair's sleeve, beginning to slowly cut open the veins of his arm; she knew that now that she was inside of the trap, that she was not getting out of it. Dean got his turn to speak now. "You know something, Alastair? I could still dream, even in Hell. And over and over and over, you know what I dreamt? I dreamt of this moment. And believe me I've got a few ideas." He prepped a hypodermic syringe and filled it completely with the holy water. Expelling the air bubbles, Dean turned to his old mentor. "Let's get started."


	8. Disobedience

After what felt like half a day, but in reality was only truly two hours, Afriel had to give it to Alastair: he was one tough cookie, not easy at all to break. God, now she was starting to sound like Dean... Shaking her head, she looked over their work, the demon half of her proud of what she had gotten to do, but the angel half inside of her revolting in horror at the sight of one of her Father's precious vessels being destroyed like this. Alastair had been injected and soaked in holy water, knives sent through his gut, his arms and legs slowly leaking blood from her additional vein-slicing, and now had anointed salt shoved down his throat. He still wouldn't break. At least the trap was still holding, because both of them were certainly going nowhere in a great rush. His human suit was definitely dead by now, if he wasn't before.

Dean grabbed a hold of his chin, just waiting for the answer that would never come. At that moment, Ariel switched places with Afri once more, a thoughtful frown on her face. Even if Kushiel was right and she and Dean would find forgiveness in doing God's work, this wasn't God's work, not anymore. I mean, this was a human! One of her father's creations! She had coped, all right, telling herself that this was a demon, the one who had marked her, that it was divine retribution of sorts to let Afriel torture him like he had tortured her for so long. But hearing the screams reminded her too much of Hell.

She wiped a bloody hand over her face to try to get rid of the sweat, but just left a streak of blood in its stead. She didn't know about Dean, but she was tired of this. Alastair was talking to Dean about something, Dean's back turned away from the demon, but her attention was caught by something else. There was a hole in the trap. Trying to keep her face calm, she looked up at Alastair, and he was free!

"Dean!" She pushed him out of the way and took the hit that was meant for him, knocking her to the ground. Getting back on her feet, she stared at her old teacher, letting the blood from her split lip run down.

"You know," Alastair spat out more blood as she touched her chin where his fist had made contact. "You could almost pass for one of us, Afriel. Look at you," they began to circle, Dean hopeless to do naught but observe, "an angel resorting to torturing a demon for information? Isn't that kind of contradictory for you people? What happened to 'follow my father's orders'?"

"I am!" She decked him under the chin, but he grabbed her throat and pinned her against the wall. Somewhere deep in her heart, she accepted the words that he spoke. He was right. This was not her Father's work. But there was no way that she was going to let him know that.

"You're just a plague on this world, you angels. So, I'm gonna send you back where you belong..." He began to chant in Latin, and she could feel herself being shot out from her body and back to the Citadel. The last thing she saw before she was jettisoned back was the look on Dean's face, knowing that they were both screwed...

* * *

As soon as she hit the floor of the Citadel, she began to run. She needed help. She needed her brother. Angels all around her looked at the blood and the human form and began to murmur amongst themselves as she ran by them. Her brother would mostly likely be in conference with her Father; she had recently received the message that their Father had returned from... wherever he was before. She reached the study, but there was another complication. Her old rival stood in front of the door, looking nonchalant but also pompous at the same time. His graying hair was combed back from his face, but he had not bothered to hide his form's obvious corpulence underneath the suit he was.

"Zachariah." She spat out the name. He was a pestilence on all angels, he and Phanuel, his alter-ego. They, as one, controlled the angels, all expect the archangels like she and her brother. Let's face it, she was of a higher pay grade then him. "Get out of my way. I need to speak to Father."

"No can do, Ariel." He looked at his nails, completely ignoring her. The old Ariel would have closed her eyes and begged him for entry. Nowadays... well, she was much different now. Ariel exhaled sharply before summoning her powers and pushing him aside. Now was no time for old pissing contests and she knew that. Opening the doors to her father's study, she marched up to him and knelt at his confused feet.

"What's going on, Ariel?" He took in the blood, but he had no chance to speak.

"Father, I was fulfilling the orders that Michael gave me in your name. I was helping Dean Winchester to interrogate a demon, but it became clear to me that he isn't the one doing this, slaughtering my kin." She looked up at his face, "But you already knew that, didn't you?"

Father lifted her onto her feet and sighed, looking down at the map and away from her. "Yes, Ariel. I can read the minds of all my children, and I know that Uriel is the one. But that isn't why I told Michael to summon you to help the Winchester son."

Silver tears streaked down her dirty face, smearing the blood there from her recent beating. "Tell me why, Father. Tell my why you put Dean and I through Hell again down there before I tear my Grace out." She stuck out her chin, content to live forever at this point as a vessel solely to Afriel. Maybe the rogue Anna was right. Maybe her Father was cold and distant after all.

She knew that he could hear her thoughts, so she wasn't surprised when her Father closed his eyes and continued to refuse to look at her. "Because you both had to realize that you can't be saved. Not this time. You two will always bear the scars of your time in Hell, and I cannot erase it. What you needed to do was understand that this part," he waved at all the blood, "is now a part of you, and that will not, and cannot, change."

Ariel could feel herself go into shock. "You don't think that I know that, Father? I've been doing your bidding since I was created! Everything that I did was for you, and you let Alastair torture me for thousands of years before you did anything! What did I do to earn your wrath like that?" A tear ran down her face, but she was far too angry to care. "Everyone of us could be saved; you taught me that! But apparently, that doesn't include your firstborn daughter! I know that Afriel is a part of me! She is the reason that I'm doing your work: to rid myself of her sins!" She jumped to her feet and began to pace in the study; her eyes were going black as she let herself grow angry. "But why are you letting Dean do this? Has he not suffered enough? Aren't we supposed to be stopping the Apocalypse?"

"That's enough, Ariel!" A voice from behind her made her growl. How did Zachariah get in here? This was a private meeting! He walked up to her Father and smiled at them both. "Now, kiddy, listen up and listen good. Father here's a little preoccupied with the war, so why don't you let him be. After all," he clapped a hand on their Father's shoulder as Father looked to the ground, "he's the one we follow, remember?"

He motioned his head to the door. Before she could stop it, two angels came and hooked her arms behind her. Zachariah looked down on her before slapping her in the face. "You will stop hanging around with Dean Winchester. He's becoming a bad influence on you, my dear."

That was when she snapped. Her eyes went pure black and her wings snapped open and were black as night as well. She ripped herself away from the two cronies, and stared at Zachariah and her Father. She nodded her head to Father, showing him that this discussion of theirs was far from over, but she was currently preoccupied with the younger brother standing next to him. "I just got two words for you, Zac: Fuck you." With that, she jettisoned herself back down to Earth, to Dean's location.

* * *

She landed outside of Cheyenne's Regional Medical Centre, her energy sapped from the trans-plane leap. Ariel made sure that her clothes were clean and that the blood was washed off her hands and face before entering the hospital, a fake smile on her face as she walked to the information desk. Materializing a lab coat over her jeans and tanks and a stethoscope around her neck, she flashed her hospital ID before asking the clerk where one of her patients was. She made up a cover that she had come down from New York to see a long-time patient of hers who had been in an accident; it wasn't necessarily a lie, but just a modification of the truth here and there. While the human looked at the computer, Ariel used that moment of distraction to gather the information from his unsuspecting mind. Flashing her smile, she walked down the hallway and let herself into Dean's room and closed the door behind her.

Alastair had done a number on him after she was forced back to the Citadel. Dean was laid out on the bed in a drug-induced coma; the vital sign and heart monitor the only way she could tell if he was alive without the use of her powers. He was hooked to a ventilator, so he must have had a pretty bad concussion. His pretty face was all lacerated and sutured, probably from punches. His left arm was the site of two IV locks, both currently running; it was most likely painkillers. Moving the blanket ever so slightly to peer at his abdomen, she saw that massive bruises were forming there. He would probably need surgery for the internal bleeding.

She took a look at the chart dangling at the end of the bed. Today, Dean was Samuel Cole. The emergency attending on call was going to have him go to surgery within the hour for the bleeding. He was on IV propofol, hydromorphone, and saline to re-hydrate him. He was on 15 liters of oxygen via ET tube until after he woke up. His x-rays were clear of any skull fractures, but he was still in pretty bad shape with the bruised kidneys, broken cheekbone, and bruised everything. He was especially going to hate the catheter when he woke up...

The door came open and Ariel heard a person walk up and stick a blade to her throat. "Who are you?" She could smell the demon blood inside of him and knew exactly who it was.

"Sam Winchester, know that that little knife won't kill me. It will simply make me angrier, and you most likely do not want to see that right now." She turned and faced him, letting, for a moment, her Grace shine through her eyes, shielding Afriel from the white light. "I am like Castiel. I'm an angel... well, more of an archangel. My name is Ariel."

Sam sighed and put the knife away. "Wait, you're telling me there's _more_ of you?"

She chuckled once, a small smile on her face for the first time in a long time. "We, the angels of the Lord, are legion, Samuel Winchester. I am truly an archangel, the firstborn sister of Micheal." That got Sam sitting in a chair, his hand to his heart, as he processed the new information. "I was sent to help your brother, as well as myself, to get back on the path of forgiveness. But thus far, I have failed in understanding the reasons behind this. At least, until now." She looked down at Dean, hearing the truth come through her ears as if they were her own voice. "You killed Alastair, didn't you?"

Sam had the audacity to look shocked, and that simply annoyed her. "Samuel Winchester, don't look shocked on my behalf. I know that you are using your powers, and that you suck the blood of demons to give you strength like that. I know this, although I don't understand it. Frankly, I don't wish to understand it. I ask again: you killed Alastair, right?" Sam just nodded his head. She looked down at Dean, and felt Castiel at the doorway. "Wait here."

Closing the door behind her, she looked up at Castiel. "Castiel, I have to tell Dean something, but I don't have time. Give him this message." She could feel her heart begin to beat faster. Taking out a pen and paper from her pocket, she wrote down two lines before holding onto her heart. Castiel knew what was going on, but he could not stop it. He grabbed the note and watched as his friend was jettisoned back to heaven, awaiting her punishment for disobedience.


	9. Punishment

When first she landed back in the place that was once her home, she knew only darkness. Afriel inside of her was roaring to be released, but she managed to get her under control and back under a semblance of the imprisonment sigils. Afriel grumbled at the fake sigils, but she swore to get Ariel through this before she stuck back into that pitiful state that she was when she was born anew in Hell.

Now once again completely Ariel and more coherent, she was dragged through the halls in chains, two enforcer angels holding on to her shoulder joints as they hauled her dead weight. Her wrists and ankles were bound with shackles that could never break without a key, her wings retracted permanently until the one who had summoned her decided otherwise to break the sigil that was carefully drawn on her back. The angels that were her family and comrades-in-arms turned away at the sight of her gross disobedience, whispering words of another Lucifer as she closed her eyes and tried her best to ignore them all. At the doorway to the room, she was dropped to the floor without any ceremony, her head yanked back by her hair to stare up. Zachariah simply stood over her, that pompous triumphant look on his face.

She didn't struggle, not this time around. She had been to Hell and back, literally. What could Heaven do to her that was worst then that? He, apparently, had other plans for her.

"Well, well." He knelt before her, carefully not to get any of her blood on him as he rubbed her face in a mockery of concern. "You've been a naughty girl, haven't you, Ariel dear?" He moved a lock of her hair off her face. "Or should we just call you Afriel instead?"

"Fuck you, Zachariah." She spoke softly. That earned her another punch in the chin; she could feel her jaw break but then slowly knit back together. Afriel wanted so badly to break her false imprisonment, but she didn't want Ariel to go through more pain than was necessary. Besides, if she played along with the act of being harmless, then they would, most likely leave her alone.

"Now, now, Afriel. You know the rules for disobedience as well as I do, remember?" That smile on his face, it was more than enough to make a saint swear. Those words barbed her heart, making her remember her past before the Fall. She, however, maintained her external cool.

"When was I disobedient to my Father, Zachariah? I only follow his will, not yours!" Her anger seeped into the edge of her voice; she could feel her eyes growing black with her anger; Afriel wanted out, and she just might let her. But it was too dangerous for that, for both of them.

"But then, you never received the memo, did you? All that time spent on Earth and not up here." Standing up, he began to circle around her, letting go of her hair. "Father handed power over to me and the other senior angels some time ago; gosh, it would have been after the death of the Messiah. We're in control now; have been for a long time. So disobedience against us is like disobeying our Father." He pointed his chin towards the room behind them and smiled wickedly down at her, knowing full well that she was aware of what was behind the locked doors. "You know, you would've made a good sidekick, big sister."

She made a promise to herself as the angels dragged her to her punishment kicking and screaming until one of her enforcer brothers decked her out cold: she would get out of here, and then she would kick Zac's righteous ass from here to kingdom-fucking-come.

* * *

He was waiting for her to come to, his tools against the walls displayed in order to show fear when she woke up. Kushiel sighed out loud, warming his hands in the fire, as he waited patiently for the next penitent. Zachariah, his much older brother, had told him to expect someone special to 'correct a small matter of disobedience'. He wasn't expecting his oldest sister to be dragged through his doors, her wrist chains hung over a hook in the middle of the room. His quarters were to become her new home for as long as Zachariah deemed it. The rack, the fire, the tools: it was a rather muted down version of Alastair's choice of venue, but still enough to strike fear into those that had not experienced the same setup in Hell. She wasn't one of them, as she finally came to of her own accord.

She looked around nonchalantly, a far different response from the weeping and soiling of the disobedient ones that came before her. It was like this was not enough to frighten her as she turned her head to him. "Kushiel." She nodded her head as he walked towards her, her face that of acceptance. There was nothing that she could do now. Fighting would earn her no respite. In fact, it would only make the torture go worse.

"Ariel." Kushiel, for all of his Inquisitor personality, was one of the most beautiful angels she had ever seen, besides Castiel and Michael. He had black hair pulled off his face into a tight braid that ended at the base of his shoulder blades. His eyes were pitch-black; most angels, when they saw him, would consider him a demon if they had never seen a demon before. However, this was simply the way that he was created. Instead of upgrading his look to the modern times, Kushiel preferred to wear the commoner clothes of the Renaissance era: loose trousers, a simple tunic of dark colors, and a leather belt.

His hands were soft as they gently inspected the restraining charm that Zachariah had drawn on her back; it was crude, but effective for its purpose. Tutting quietly to himself, he got some hot water from the pot near his fire and carefully began to rinse it off. The water was beyond boiling, but Ariel bit her lip to avoid screaming so soon into the torture- no. In Heaven, it wasn't torture: it was punishment for disobedience. Funny, it was like that in Hell, too.

Once the sigil was destroyed and her wings were released and more comfortably tucked under her skin, Ariel let herself relax as much as she could against her hanging weight. That was just frankly uncomfortable, but she knew that this was only the beginning. As Kushiel removed her chains from the hook and led her to the rack, she just cocked her head to one side. Well, this wasn't so much a rack than a table. It brought back horrible memories of Hell: the screaming, the fire, the joy of the torture... no, that was a different life.

Kushiel gently tightened the restraints to keep her limbs and hips in place, taking his time to ensure a semblance of comfort: her arms were now perpendicular from her body, her legs secured slightly apart from one another. A leather muzzle went over her mouth and chin to keep her head still; it had symbols etched into the surface that prohibited her from transporting out of here. Afriel kept repeating a mantra in the back of her mind, to keep her thoughts away from the pain that was coming soon. Kushiel gently undid her shirt and revealed her flat stomach as she began to pant with the surge of adrenaline and fear, anticipating the pain. Taking up one of the knives, he began to carve on her right side.

Ah, that blade was like an unwelcome homecoming gift. It entered her side, carving slowly and deliberately to cause as much pain as possible. She tried to scream bloody murder, tried to arch her back in pain, but she was completely immobilized, her voice muzzled and muted. There was nothing that she could do except listen to Afriel's mantra. Tears of silver crawled down her cheeks as Kushiel, with that damnable blank face of his, broke her knees with his bare fists. The agony of the splinters of bone as they dug into muscle was beyond what she could take, and she screamed loud enough to wake the dead. But as she slowly began to heal, there was that small part of her mind told her that it was just the beginning...

* * *

It had been six human weeks since she was put on the table; time was measured only in knife strokes and screams, in broken bones and slowly healing. Her Grace made it impossible for her to die, and so she would have to live through this for as long as it took for her to be repentant, but that would never happen and they both knew it. No food and very little water made her weak. Her fingers were broken, a new one each day until he ran out. Her arms had been yanked out of their sockets and now laid uselessly away from her sides. Her legs were broken now in four places, her kneecaps smashed. Her wrists and ankles were chafed and scarred from fighting the leather. Her legs, arms, and torso were riddled with bleeding and scarred sigils from Kushiel's patient work. At least, unlike his now-dead brother Alastair, he didn't gloat while he did his job.

As Kushiel leant over her, he looked up and down the length of her broken body with a sad look on his face. "Ariel, why? Why did you disobey?" He released the muzzle and let her take a few deep breaths. The tears had long since dried out, but she was still holding on... something got her past the torture, past the pain.

"Because... I serve our Father, brother. Not that prick Zachariah." She lifted her neck to see across the room. Across from her was a new set of equipment, as if the room had grown to accommodate another. "What's going on, Kushiel?" Her voice was so hoarse that she could barely speak. Seeing this, Kushiel took a water skin and dribbled a few drops into her mouth. Seeing her try to drink more, he lowered the bag and let her drink enough to allow her to speak. "What's going on, Kushiel?"

He sighed, tossing the water skin aside. "It appears as though Dean Winchester is a bad influence on angels nowadays." Her brow creased as she tried to understand what he was talking about until the door opened and another angel was tossed inside. Her heart wrenched.

"What has he done, Kushiel?" She began to fight against her restraints with new strength as he lifted the unconscious angel and placed him on the second rack. Taking care again as he restrained him, he cut off the trench coat and jacket as the angel began to come to. His blue eyes were so sad, so defeated: it was like there was nothing left for him. Kushiel didn't muzzle him, instead just brushing the disheveled black hair out of his eyes.

"Your mate Castiel was disobedient, like you, Ariel. Only Zachariah has asked me to make his session quick. He is still needed at the front, unlike you." That was the greatest punishment that Kushiel could have come up with: make her watch as he tortured her lover for his own act of disobedience: for trying to help out a human, his charge, he had gone against the will of Zachariah. That was a sad statement in and of itself, if that was now the policy of the Citadel's warriors. Kushiel was much faster with Castiel: carving for a few minutes, and then whispering something into Castiel's ears, something that only the two of them could hear.

That was the killer. Ariel fought her restraints with new-found fury, not caring if Afriel had taken over her and had begun to swear and rant against the angel inquisitor, making promises and threats to fulfill when -if- she was ever freed from this place. Slowly over a day's time, Castiel was set free. He was completely broken once more, obedient to the will of that prick Zachariah and his cronies. It didn't take long; was it a sign of weakness on his part, or was it a sign of her experience and stubbornness that she had stuck it out for so long. As Kushiel released him and gave him back the trench coat in pristine condition, he only looked at her once in angelic blankness before leaving of his own accord, not even a word spoken in her direction.

When Kushiel came back to her, Afriel had disappeared under the weight of the sorrow that Ariel bore. Finally, she was broken. There was nothing left for her to fight for, not anymore. Dean... he was being watched over by Castiel, groomed into the manipulations of the angels that she had once considered her family. Castiel was gone from her; he no longer cared for her that same way that he had before. Michael was off fighting the war- hell, she wasn't even sure if he knew where she was at this particular junction. Even her Father had abandoned her to this fiery pit. As Kushiel carved into her, she just let him. Of course, she screamed, but she would've done anything to carve away at the emptiness that once was her heart.

Zachariah had succeeded. He had turned his greatest rival and oldest sister, the greatest source of angelic empathy and emotions on this plane, and turned her into a void, a blank entity. He had turned her into a true angel.


	10. The Truth, at Last

Dean paced around the white room. This was too weird for color TV. His brother was drinking demon blood and playing around with his demon pal, but he chose her over his own brother. They were gonna try and kill Lilith by juicing Sammy up until he was all demon. Bobby was just yelling at him for being a coward like his father was, until he was suddenly transported here in this heaven-like solitary cell. Sure it was nice and all, but he was needed elsewhere.

At once, Castiel stood there, all angelic and bland. Cocking his head like he always did when he talked to Dean, he spoke in that freaking monotone. "Hello, Dean. It's almost time."

* * *

Ariel laid against the rack, her energy spent. It was such an out-of-body experience to watch her body slowly heal itself after the agony that Kushiel put her through, only to watch him do it again. Afriel had been quiet for so long that it felt like she was alone, but she knew that the demon was still there. She would have known if Afriel was exorcised out of her. In that event, she would be dead.

As her legs knitted back together, she tried to scream against the muzzle, but she couldn't. The leather chafed against her mouth and her throat was void of any moisture, rendering her silent; all she could do was pant through her nose. The sigils on her stomach and torso were all healed, for now; there would be massive scars riddling her body to remind her of the time that she spent here. She moved her head to the side, watching Kushiel lean against the wall and watch her heal so that he could begin again.

* * *

Castiel had bailed out on him after that freaking cryptic message. Almost time for what? He wandered around the room, turning his back to the marble table to gaze up at some of the portraits that hung on the wall. Turning back, he saw that there were burgers and beer that weren't there before.

"Hello, Dean." Resisting the need to roll his eyes, he turned to Zachariah and Castiel standing behind him. "You're looking... fit."

In his style, Dean tried to lighten up the moment. "Well, how 'bout this? The suite life of Zac and Cas." The angels looked dumbfounded by the joke, and Dean felt awkward. "It's a... never mind. So, what is this place? Where the hell am I?"

Zachariah straightened out his suit as he walked around the room. "Call it a green room. We're closing in on the grand finale here, kiddo. We want to keep you safe before show-time." He made a few offers to keep Dean comfy, but Dean wasn't buying it.

"Let's bail on the holo-deck, okay? I want to know the game plan, here." Dean stuck his hands in his pocket and looked at the two angels in front of him.

"Let us worry about that. We want you relaxed, focused."

"Well, I'm about to be pissed and leaving, so start talking, Chuckles." Dean's temper was starting to flare; he was beyond annoyed now with the cryptic angel games. Damn, where was Ariel in all this?

Zachariah sighed before acquiescing. "All the seals have fallen, except one." Dean made to answer back, but Zachariah stopped him from more sarcasm. "Really, Dean. Don't speak, since you're the one that started all this." When Dean shut his mouth, Zachariah continued. "However, this final seal is different. Lilith has to break it herself tomorrow night at midnight."

"Well, how're you gonna stop her?"

"We're working on that.

"Well, work harder." Just what were these angels waiting for?

"Have faith." Zachariah looked away from Dean.

"In what, you? Give me one good reason why I should." Dean had had enough of this nonsense no-answers crap.

So too, it seemed, did Zachariah. He got right into Dean's face and looked at him with that pompous trademark look. "Because you swore your obedience. So obey." Dean saw Castiel look down to the ground in obvious guilt; Castiel made him swear that oath just last night, but Dean thought it was so he could get his angel buddies not to smite his brother while he was trying to detox the demon blood from his system. Turns out that he had been played from the start. And, to top it off, he was still trapped here. Great.

* * *

Ariel felt the blade enter her side again as Kushiel re-traced the sigils into her skin. The only thing keeping her alive right now was her Grace, but she could feel it begin to grow dim. Lack and loss of hope could do that to an angel; even through that, she clung to the hope that she would see her brother again, despite how changed he was; maybe she would even see Dean, to be able to apologize for her not being able to protect him. Her eyes were glassed over, but she was still alive, if only just. She still screamed hoarsely at the pain, but there was nothing to take the pain away of watching Castiel break in front of her with nothing that she could do.

Suddenly, the door opened. Turning her head to the side as best as she could against the muzzle, she saw two angels standing there. Kushiel saw them as well. Undoing the muzzle, he let her drink again from the small skin again. As the liquid entered her system, Ariel's back arced as her Grace went into overdrive as the tranq-laced water flooded her system. Her eyes went black and her body relaxed against the restraints.

She felt the cool tile of the floor as she was dragged from the chamber into the bright light of the Citadel. She could hear the murmuring of the angels as they peered at her mauled back where Kushiel had whipped her after her first bout of healing five weeks ago. She knew what was next: she was going to be branded a traitor by the high council. Zachariah was on it, to be sure of at least one vote against her in the end.

She was tossed onto the floor in front of the angelic presences. She tried to pick herself up, but she was still weak. She felt strong hands, unwontedly gentle, lift her to her knees before pressing down on the hand print on her shoulder to wake her up fully. The burn of the hand print was nothing like what had been done to her over the last few weeks, but it was enough to break the lull over her senses. Shaking her head gently, she looked up at the faces of her jury.

Phanuel had taken over Zachariah and looked down on her with abject joy at the fact that he was finally going to punish her after so many millennia. However, she still had her brothers Metatron, Raphael, and Michael on her side, hopefully.

It was Metatron that spoke first. "We have convened this council to determine whether or not Ariel, archangel of the Lord and Father, should hereby be stripped of her Grace for disobedience against the Father." He looked down at her; his green eyes pitied the sight of his sister in this state. Normally, he had a length of jet black hair that he kept off his face in a braid, but today his head was shaved for the sake of seriousness and practicality. Raph and Michael both bore looks of sorrow at their comrade and sister. It seems only Phanuel was excited for her sentencing.

Metatron spoke once more. "Ariel, please describe the events of six mortal weeks past after the demon Alastair sent you back to the Citadel."

She gathered her breath and spoke, but her voice was hoarse and scratched. "I... I went down to the library of our Father. Zachariah tried to stop me from entering, but I pushed him aside. I asked our Father why he ordered me to torture a demon for information that he did not have."

Phanuel was quick to jump on her. "So you say that you doubted?"

Ariel closed her eyes for a moment. "Yes, I admit that I felt doubt. That was why I went to confirm the orders with our Father." That shut him up for the time being. "When he confirmed to me that it was the traitor Uriel that was the one killing our brethren, I asked him why he had ordered Dean Winchester and myself to torture the demon in the first place, when earlier he had assured me that I would have completed my penance when Dean Winchester made it to the beginning of the Apocalypse with his somewhat shaken faith in him intact." She took a breath and continued; her voice was getting stronger as the words began to come quicker to her. "I asked Father if we were supposed to avoid the start of the Apocalypse, and then was when Zachariah entered the study uninvited. Zachariah refused to let our Father speak, and ordered me to stay away from Dean Winchester. However, that order was not superseded by the order that my Father had given me earlier, in my mind at least." The lie came off her tongue with ease; she didn't want the council to learn of the true reasons that she ranted at their Father like that.

"I returned to the Earth plane to ascertain the condition of the Winchester man, and that was when I was forcibly summoned back. Zachariah resumed his form of Phanuel and told me that I was mistaken in the hierarchy of the angels; that our Father had granted him total power over our brethren, and that to disobey him was akin to disobeying our Father. I have, since then, been with Kushiel these past six weeks to receive Phanuel's perceived punishment for my disobedience." She had schooled her face into blankness; she had no energy left for her emotions to show, even if she had any left to show.

Micheal's knuckles were white as they gripped the bench before him at the thought of his little sister being punished by Kushiel. His gaze was pitch black as he glared at Phanuel. However, when he spoke, his voice was calm. "Ariel, in any of this time, have you directly disobeyed our Father's will, as dictated by myself as his commander of Hosts?"

"No."

Raphael leaned forward, staring down at her. "Ariel, is it true that during the time you spent with Kushiel, that the demon dormant inside of you known as Afriel was chained and complacent, never interfering with your penance?"

"No." These monosyllabic answers were taking their toll on her. Ariel resisted the effort to faint in front of the council, but her energy was decreasing slowly by the minute. They all looked to her for an explanation. "She tried to take my mind from the penance by saying gibberish, but I was successful in ignoring her and undergoing it completely and without distraction. It was important for me to understand that this penance had a purpose, and listening to a demon would not accomplish those ends." She apologized to Afriel mentally, and the demon accepted without any pause of concern

Metatron looked to the angels surrounding her as he gained their verdicts, and nodded. "Ariel, archangel, you are found innocent of the charges of disobedience, in the case that you merely disobeyed a lower angel and not the Father himself." She could feel her heart beating with joy, but Metatron stayed her with her hand. Phanuel looked absolutely livid, but he could not go against the collective will of the high council.

"However, to prevent you from coming before this council again, we have decided to brand you with the symbol of the warrior, giving you the same status as your brother. After this day, the humans Dean and Samuel Winchester are to stay under your charge. You will be aided by the angel Castiel." Metatron looked to the two angels standing guard over the room and nodded his head again; they left for a moment. "Ariel, you are told now that the Apocalypse will happen, and that Dean is meant to kill Lucifer himself. He does not know that, yet. Phanuel will inform him of such at the proper time." Calling out to the closed doors, the angels re-entered the chamber, helped her to stand on unsteady feet and legs, and took her to a side room where Kushiel was waiting for her again.

He took off the remnants of her tattered shirt, revealing her branded shoulder and arm completely. Turning to the side wall, he took out a branding iron that had obviously been sitting in the fire for some time; it was red-hot and smoking when Kushiel poured some of his water on it to test its readiness. The two angels that escorted her here grabbed her arms and restrained her. Ariel clenched her jaw and nodded to Kushiel who applied the brand.

Agony stripped through her body as she screamed. The two angels held her firm, ensuring that she didn't move while the brand was in place. He held it for thirty seconds, but it felt like a lifetime. It had been about eight thousand mortal years since she was a prisoner of Hell, and yet the smell of burning flesh made it seem like just yesterday. As soon as he was done, Kushiel ripped the brand from her skin and let her go.

She walked out of the room on her own feet, collapsing in Michael's arms at the ordeal and at its end.

* * *

Dean had had enough. He was not going to be stuck here forever. He was bored, and ergo he needed something to do. So, he began to topple those little freaky statues that surrounded the room. After the first one, Zach came back.

"Quit hurling feces like a howler monkey, would you? It's unbecoming." Something had gotten under his skin; his face was annoyed, and his voice was tauter than usual.

"Then let me outta here." It was simple really.

Before Zachariah could speak again, another angel walked through the door. Dean looked at her: _Ariel? _But she was different. Her face was smooth, but there was a fresh scar through her right eye like a crescent moon. She walked slowly, gingerly; was she injured? He couldn't tell through the leather jacket and the blood red tank top, but her breaths came in stilted quiet pants. Strapped over her back was a sword. Apparently, Zach didn't know about and didn't like it.

"Where did you get that?" He made to put a hand on the sword, but she drew it with the skill of a warrior. Dean made a future note in his head: never mess with her in the future.

"Michael deemed it fit for his right hand to bear the Sword of Lucifer." Whoa, wait, what? Dean was really confused at this point. The point of the sword was directed right at Zach's trembling throat. "Now complete your orders, and leave me with my charge."

Zach backed slowly from the blade and straightened out his suit jacket. Ignoring the archangel as she re-sheathed the sword across her back and stood at attention, he turned back to Dean.

"What the hell's goin' on here? When do I ice Lilith?" Zach chuckled briefly.

"You're not going to... ice Lilith." He sat on the couch against the wall as Dean took this in.

"What?" Wasn't that his job: to prevent the Apocalypse from happening?

"Lilith's gonna break the final seal. Set and done at this point of the game, kiddo."

"But Sam and I..." Reality finally dawned on him. "You don't wanna stop it, do you?"

Zachariah smiled at him. "Nope. Never did. The end is nigh. The Apocalypse is coming, kiddo, to a theater near you."

Anger began to fill Dean up. "But then what was that crap about saving the seals?

"For our grunts on the ground - we couldn't just tell them the whole truth. We'd have a full-scale rebellion on our hands. I mean, think about it. Would we really let sixty-five seals get broken unless senior management wanted it that way?" Dean thought immediately of Castiel and what he had tried to warn him about earlier before he was yanked back here. He thought of Ariel and the note that Castiel had passed on to him before she got yanked: _"Don't trust the angels, except Castiel, me, and my brother."_

"Don't worry, Dean. You're still vital. We weren't lying about your destiny. Just... omitted a few pertinent details. But nothing's changed. You are chosen. You will stop it. Just... not Lilith, or the apocalypse. That's all." Ariel turned her head away and closed her eyes.

"Then what?" Dean really wanted to throttle someone at this point. Stop it with the fucking riddles, would they? However, Zachariah didn't verbally answer the question. He looked towards a painting on the wall.

"Lucifer. You're going to stop Lucifer. And when it's over, when we've won, your rewards will be unimaginable: peace, happiness, two virgins and seventy sluts."

Dean, trying to hide the fact that the shell-shock to his system was quietly overwhelming him, posed this question. "Tell me one thing. Where's God in all of this?"

Zachariah began to walk away, but then he just stopped and cocked his head, not even looked back at Dean. "God? God has left the building." He paid no attention to the tears making their way down Ariel's face as he walked past her and into the wall.


	11. Armageddon

Dean looked over to Ariel after Zachariah made his exit, trying to absorb what was just placed on him. Her face was going pale as she collapsed to the ground. "Ariel?" Dean came to her side but she rolled away from him and gingerly got up again, placing a hand against the wall to help haul her up. Without any words, Dean hooked his arm under her shoulder joints and got her to lay down on the reclining couch underneath the portrait of Lucifer. She tried to wave away his hands as he began to touch her torso, but she grew silent when they both saw the blood on his hands.

"What the-" Dean took out his knife and lifted her shirt up. Amidst her panting, there were sigils all over her torso and shoulders. In horror, Dean removed her jacket and saw more on her arms. He saw signs that her fingers were broken and reset, and recently. Worse of all, he saw a fresh brand of an upright sword emblazoned on her arm. "What the hell happened to you?"

"I was accused of being disobedient, Dean. They gave me... what's that human phrase?... no trial before jury. They just went straight to the punishment." She winced as she pulled the shirt back down. "Don't worry about me, Dean."

He didn't stop worrying about it, but he let it go for now at least. "What were you saying earlier to Zach, Ariel? Are you really the right hand of your brother?" She nodded and took out the sword once more. Dean saw the piece and liked it at once: a dual-edged blade with a sharp taper at the end that allowed for deep penetration, made of silver to boot.

"Yes, Dean. After my punishment, the archangels summoned me before the Council, our ruling body. There are normally five angels that sit upon it: myself, Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Phanuel. But when Gabriel disappeared after the First War, Metatron took his place."

"Wait. Who's Phanuel?" Ariel cocked an eyebrow.

"You just saw him. His other form is Zachariah, self-righteous pompous ass of Heaven." She chuckled slightly. "He's the one running the show now. Anyways, I was pardoned of my disobedience because my act was against Phanuel and not against God. To resolve the issue once and for all, I was made my brother's right hand, another warrior in the fight. I'm no longer a healer, Dean."

"Speaking of, is it real? I'm supposed to defeat Lucifer?" Ariel nodded her head once, her face calm but filled with fury. Dean threw his hands in the air and stomped around the room. "Why the hell didn't you tell me this earlier, Ari?"

"Because I didn't know. I've been on active duty for the last four thousand years, Dean. This last year was the first time that I was home to receive new orders." She shoved her shirt back down all the way and shrugged herself back into the jacket, standing straight as far as she could handle it. "This was just as confusing for me as it is for you, but to me it makes sense now." She turned to a portrait of the Apocalypse, of people dying at the hands of both angels and demons. "Dean, this world is corrupted, big time. The world is ruled by sin, and the people of this world don't care enough to save themselves. By doing this, by allowing the Apocalypse to take place, we correct the balance. And for this, your brother is the key."

She played the charade with skill. Truthfully, she and Afri both hated the thought of the Apocalypse occurring. All that death, all that suffering... it would kill the whole world if Lucifer got free. It would still kill people if Lucifer was stopped. Her brothers and sisters didn't care about the humans. Phanuel/Zachariah had convinced them of their superiority to the mortals. Their goal was simply to save the world before Lucifer destroyed it all.

"She's right, Dean." Castiel appeared out of nowhere, but it was to Ariel that he spoke first. "Ariel, I understand that I am to follow your orders now." He looked at her torso before going into mind-talk. _"What did they do to you?"_

_"Simple, Castiel. What they did to you over a span of six weeks. For you, Kushiel was just getting warmed up." _Her face went blank as she tried to stop her feelings for Castiel come to the surface. This wasn't the angel that she loved, not by a long shot.

"I'm sorry." He came over to her and went to heal her wounds before she stopped him. "That was the Council's condition after the fact: that I let these wounds heal on their own."

"Uh, hi? What's going on here? What's the plan, Cas? What're you going to do with Sam?" Dean stood away from them as they looked at him in a united move. Gah, that was creepy.

"Nothing, Dean. Sam's going to do it all to himself." Castiel looked over at him with that blank look that seemed to dominate his emotions for the past few days whenever they saw him.

"What's that mean?" Dean could feel his frustration go wild when Castiel simply looked to the floor. He was on his own for this one, since Ari was occupied for the last while. "Oh, right, right: got to toe the company line. Why are you here, Cas?" His fingers curled into fists for a moment.

He looked up at Dean with that blank look in his eyes. "We have been through much together, you and I. And I just wanted to say, I'm sorry that it had to end this way."

Dean looked like he wanted to sock Castiel good in the jaw. "Sorry? It's the Armageddon, Cas. You gotta do better than 'sorry'."

Castiel tried to reason with Dean; Ariel just stood away and let the two men figure this out on their own. "Try to understand: this is long foretold. This is your-"

"Destiny? Don't give me that holy crap, Castiel! Destiny, God's plan... It's all a bunch of lies, you poor, stupid son of a bitch! It's just a way for your bosses to keep me and keep you in line! You know what's real? People, families - that's real. And you're gonna watch them all burn?" Dean was becoming angrier by the second, and then finally Castiel reacted.

"What is so worth saving? I see nothing but pain here. I see inside you. I see your guilt, your anger, confusion. You're angry at me, at Ariel, at the world, and at yourself for things out of your control." Castiel's face was angry for a moment before smoothing back out again. Ariel smiled to herself: maybe her Castiel wasn't as lost as she thought he was. "In paradise, all is forgiven. You'll be at peace. Even with Sam."

Dean bit his tongue to keep the furious diatribe from coming out right away and carving Cas a new one. When he was slightly calmed down, he spoke. "You can take your peace and shove it up your lily-white ass. Cause I'll take the pain and the guilt. I'll even take Sam as is. It's a lot better than being some Stepford bitch in paradise." His anger let loose. "This is simple, Cas! No more crap about being a good soldier. There is a right and there is a wrong here, and you know it." Castiel turned away from his for a moment, but Dean grabbed his arm and made the angel look him in the eye. "Look at me! You know it! You were gonna help me once, weren't you? You were gonna warn me about all this, before they dragged you back to bible camp." Dean's bravado was long gone by now, and he was grasping at all straws. "Help me - now. Please."

The conversation continued, but Ariel received a message from her brother, the brands on her arms burning with the instant message. _"Ariel. Get Dean and Castiel and get them out of there. I don't want the Apocalypse to happen as much as you do. Tell Castiel to get the knife that the demon spawn Ruby was using. Get Dean to St. Mary's Convent in Illchester. That's where the final seal is. Lilith is going to die, and Sam Winchester's going to do it. She's the final seal."_

She returned to the conversation only to see Dean dismiss Castiel. Now was the time. She shot a message to Cas. _"Castiel. Don't react to this, just listen. I need you to get Ruby's knife for me. Bring it back to this room. We're going to stop the Apocalypse."_

_"On whose orders?"_ Castiel looked confused, but Dean wasn't paying attention to him.

_"Mine and Michael's. Now go!" _With that, Castiel transported out of there. Now all they had to do was wait.

* * *

It was a matter of minutes before Ariel sensed Castiel's return. Dean was about ready to eat from the food that was laid out for him when Cas reappeared and shoved Dean against the wall, covering his mouth with his hand. Ariel got up from the wall and watched as Cas returned to his old self. Dean nodded once he understood that Cas needed him to be quiet. Looking at Ariel, he brought out the knife and cut his palm. Taking the Sword of Lucifer from her back, Ariel cut herself as well. Working as one, they formed the blood sigil on the wall that would banish angels as he was drawing closer.

Like clockwork, Phanuel came into the room, livid and red in the face. "Castiel, would you mind explaining what the hell you're doing?" Ariel took the Sword still in her hand and slashed it across his torso, making him stumble back. Ariel smiled. "He's doing God's work. And so am I." With that, she let the angel fall to the floor as they slapped the sigil as one. Castiel raised an eyebrow as she spat on the place where his body was once before turning around to him and embracing her friend.

"Swounds, Cas!" Silver tears came down her eyes. "Don't ever leave me like that again!" Castiel gathered her in his arms, forgetting the torture done to her body and hugging her tight to him.

"Uh, people, er, angels?" Again, they both looked at Dean with a question in their eyes. "Mind explaining to the human what's going on?"

"Lilith is the final seal, Dean. She dies, it begins. We have to stop Sam." Ariel sheathed the baldric and took his hand, mindless of the blood still dripping down her arm.

"But we don't know where he is." Castiel took her other hand.

"I do." White light surrounded them all as they beamed down to Earth. They were about their Father's business tonight.

* * *

Dean and Ariel arrived at St. Mary's Convent just as the doors shut in their face; she had sent Castiel to protect the prophet in case the seraphim Chamuel thought he was in danger. She could hear Sam and Ruby taunting Lilith as Sam began the final seal. The angel and the Winchester broke down the door just as Lilith was killed. All three of them stood in horror as Lilith's blood began to spiral on the ground. Sam and Ruby never noticed them, so enthralled were they by the sight before them.

"You did it, Sam. I mean, I never doubted you for a minute, but you did it." Ruby walked around and stared at the floor with worship written all over her face. "You opened the door. And now he's free at last. He's free at last!" Joy was written on her face.

"No, Ruby, I stopped it!" Sam looked terrified. Ariel could feel that the demon blood inside of him was all gone, but the deed was done. They were too late.

"Sam: _and it is written that the first demon shall be the last seal._ And you bust her open. And now guess who's coming for dinner..."

Sam found himself on the floor, trying to comprehend what it was that he had truly done. "Oh my god."

Ruby just laughed. "Guess again." Seeing Sam on the floor, Ruby sighed and knelt beside him. "You don't even know how hard this was! All the demons out for my head. No one knew. I was the best of those sons of bitches! The most loyal! Not even Alastair knew! Only Lilith! Yeah, I'm sure you're a little angry right now, But, I mean, come on, Sam! Even you have to admit - I'm - I'm awesome!"

Sam tried to kill her with his powers, but she just waved away his efforts. "Sorry, Sam. Demon, remember? Should have listened to Dean, after all. And he's going to be so proud of you for releasing him; why do you think Azazel made you in the first place." The demon cocked her head back and laughed, and then gasped as the Sword of Lucifer rang through the air and cut her in half.

"Sam!" Dean ran to his brother, fallen on the floor in a crumpled heap as he tried to comprehend what he had done. Ariel cleaned the sword and replaced it in its sheath before staring over at the Winchesters. Falling to her knees, she took Sam in her arms and rocked him as he began to weep. It was not the first time that she had comforted a hurt brother, but now she knew that it was the last.

"Samuel, it's okay. It's all right. We will win this." She looked over at the spiral of blood as it stopped moving. A column of bright light overtook them all and an evil chuckle filled the air...


	12. Sympathy for the Devil

It was the column of blinding light that made the Winchester brothers and Ariel run towards the locked door. They banged on the door, trying to get free of this place, but the spell that was unleashing Lucifer was too powerful. Then, the voice began to ring in the air. Ariel turned in horror as the two brothers cupped their hands over their ears and began to wince and grimace at the high-pitched voices, slowly going to their knees as the power of the unleashed angel overwhelmed them. To Ariel, however, it was crystal clear.

"At last, I'm free. At last!" There was a chuckle in the air, but it was quite unbelieving, as if the concept of Lucifer becoming free was now an impossibility after so long for him. Just then, the brothers disappeared into thin air and she was left alone. The voice rang out again. "Hello, sister."

Ariel's fists were clenched so hard that it made her knuckles turn white. "Hello, brother." Her face was drained off all color as the light dissappated and she was left with the ethereal form of Lucifer.

Since he had no form, Lucifer was fog for the moment. However, the fog became slightly corporeal, and there was a form in the mist before her. For every few moments, there was a chin or an arm or a leg, but his voice was ever-present. "Why are you here, baby sister?"

"I'm here to protect the Winchester brothers, Lucifer." She collapsed to her knees, her injuries overcoming her once more. The ghost of her brother, long locked away, came over and knelt beside her. She felt her shirt being lifted up and her brother look at her wounds. Without being asked, she stripped off the leather jacket and showed him the brands on her arm. He was silent as he placed his fingers against her brands, against the whip marks on her back; he looked revolted as he saw his own seal branded to her shoulder blade.

"Who did this to you, Ariel?" For once, the voice was serious; it was almost angry on behalf of his younger sister.

"Several people, Lu. First of them all, Alastair had his claws in me for four hundred mortal years before I became his pupil. After him it was Kushiel, because I was disobedient in that I disobeyed Phanuel and followed Father's orders." A gentle light filled the air as he healed her wounds, leaving her scars behind as a testament to his rusty powers. Little was it known by the mortals (for it was shunned by the heavens) that Lucifer was a healer; in fact, he was Ariel's mentor before he fell.

She placed her hand against the solid fog that formed her brother's cheek, wishing that it was flesh and skin that she was touching. "Why, Lu? Why?"

The chuckle filled the air again. "I loved our Father too much, Ari. Humans were his favourites, not us. And when he began to toy with us, I had enough." A misty hand cupped her chin. "God had no right to allow this evil to happen to us." She leaned into the misty hand of her brother, silvery tears falling down her face. "Know that I have missed you, and Michael." The hand disappeared and then she was jettisoned away.

* * *

Dean and Sam walked through the debris of the prophet's house when Ariel fell to the floor from the sky. Dean was the first one to help her to her feet, but she hid her face from him. By the time that the dust was brushed off of her and she was standing straight-backed, her face was clear again and the Sword of Lucifer was in her hand. She would not let the brothers see her emotional battle.

"You all right?" She asked them as she looked both of the brothers over. Scanning Sam, she saw that his powers were currently depleted, but that he was no longer dependent on the demon blood. How was that possible? He should be jonesing for his next hit of demon blood, because it was ten times more addictive than crystal methampthamine and heroin combined.

"Yeah; where'd you go?" She shook her head, telling Dean that she would discuss it with him later.

"What happened here?" Her question was quickly answered when something swung through the air and hit Sam in the head. The Sword was pointed to the throat of the offender as he turned the corner. Seeing the prophet, she sheathed the sword and bowed from the waist.

"Sam! You're all right!" The prophet, Chuck Shurley, dropped the plunger to the floor when he saw the brothers.

"Well, my head hurts." Sam rubbed the part of his head where the plunger hit.

"No! My last vision, you were like full on Vader! Your body temperature was 150; your heart rate was 200! Your eyes were black!" That got everyone in the room to pause. Ariel looked to Dean before looking across the room at Sam.

"Your eyes were black?" He looked at Sam with disbelief in his eyes. Sam simply glanced at Dean before looking to the floor. He didn't know; Ariel cocked her head at him as she walked over to the wall to lean against it for a moment or two: he truly didn't know how far gone down he had truly gone with drinking the demon blood. Well, now the question was: would he try it again now that he knew about the good, the bad, and the ugly of his choice?

It was then that Chuck noticed the angel leaning against the wall. "Who are you?"

Ariel smiled. "I'm Ariel, prophet. An archangel. You wouldn't know me, but," as she picked up a ruined copy of his book "No Rest for the Wicked", "I'm a great fan of your work."

"No, really? You're Ariel? Michael's sister?" She nodded her head, but then he blurted out, "You're the sister of Lucifer?"

The brothers looked to her in horror. Dean looked utterly betrayed. She tapped her finger on the hilt of the Sword in her hand. "Yes."

She found Dean's hands wrapped around her throat. She shoved him aside with what was left of her strength. "Lucifer is my brother, Dean, but I don't know him anymore." Well, that was a lie, seeing that she had just caught up with him back in Ilchester. "He was locked away since before I was in Hell."

Dean looked back to Chuck, his back stiff with anger. "Where's Cas?"

Chuck backed away from them, a guilty look on his face. "He's dead. Gone. The archangel smoked the crap out of him. I'm sorry."

"Dammit, Chamuel!" Ariel cursed as she hit the wall with a fist. Another angel was lost to the fight, but this one was her lover, her mate. This one cut much deeper.

Dean continued to look at Chuck with that look of disbelief in his eyes. "You're sure about that? Maybe he just backed into the light or something."

Chuck shook his head, a sure look in his frightened eyes. "Oh, no. No, he's… eh… he like exploded like a water balloon of chunky soup."

"Goddammit, you stupid bastard!" Dean looked up at the ceiling for a moment before catching the furious eye of Ariel. She looked like she wanted to backhand him for that comment, but then, displays of violence against one's charge is typically frowned upon by the upper echelon command.

Suddenly, Chuck looked up and said, "Crap!" All three turned to look at his blanched face. "I can feel them!"

Ariel felt the brand in her arm light up and hissed. "I can feel them, too."

Dean was pissed. "Feel what?"

"Thought we'd find you here." That voice rang through the debris behind them, that voice dripping with the syrup of sarcasm. Ariel stiffened. Turning around, she saw Zachariah with his two cronies standing in the remains of Chuck's kitchen. With a chipper smile on his face, he looked to the eldest Winchester and ignored everyone else. "Well, Dean. Time to go back to work."

"You should keep your distance, ass hat!" Dean pointed his finger at Zach to keep him from moving forward. Ariel leaned the Sword of Lucifer against her already injured shoulder, getting ready for another fight.

Zachariah seemed nonplussed. "You seem a little tense, Dean."

Dean was furious now. "Little? You sons of bitches jumpstarted Judgement Day!"

Zachariah remained nonchalant about the whole thing, like he had given Dean a bad mark on a school assignment. "Okay, one: maybe we let it happen, but we didn't start anything!" Now he looked to Sam with that smug look on his face. "Right, Sam?" When Zach winked as Sam looked guiltily away, he began his admonishment again. "Second: you had the chance to stop your brother, Dean, and you didn't. So, let's not quibble over who started what. Let's just say it was all our faults, and move one. 'Cause like it or not, it's Apocalypse now, and we're back on the same team again."

Dean made his face clear of his emotions. "Oh, is that so?"

Zachariah continued. "You want to kill the devil; we want you to kill the devil. It's synergy."

"And I'm just supposed to trust you?" Dean's face turned angry. "Cram it with walnuts, ugly!"

Zachariah's face turned serious, his lips curling slightly. "Lucifer is powerful in ways that defy description. We need to strike now! Hard and fast, before he finds his vessel." He looked at Ariel, and his contempt only grew. "Ariel here remembers just how powerful her oldest brother is, don't you?" He winked at her and turned his gaze back to the

Sam looked disgusted. "His vessel? Lucifer needs a meat suit?"

Zachariah chuckled. "He is an angel; them's the rules. And when he touches down, we're talking four horsemen, red oceans, fiery skies, the greatest hits. You can stop him, Dean; you can, but you need our help." Ariel's face jolted momentarily at the words, 'four horsemen', before hiding her shock again.

Dean kept his face clear, but his voice was low. "You listen to me, you two-faced douche. After what you did to me, to Ariel, to Cas, I don't want jack-squat from you!"

Zach's face turned ugly. "You listen to me, boy! You think you can rebel against us, as Lucifer did?" Something caught his attention and he looked down at Dean's hand. "You're bleeding."

From behind Dean, the three people saw that he motioned for them to move back. In front of him, Dean simply looked down at the blood on his hand. "Oh, yeah… a little insurance policy in case you dicks showed up." Dean pulled the kitchen door and revealed the blood sigil. Zachariah tried to rush forward, but Dean slammed his hand down on the sigil.

Ariel nodded as the sigil took her away too. Dean looked behind him, growing horror on his face, as she disappeared as well.

* * *

The ground was hard landing on as she fell upwards to the Citadel. As she, Zachariah, and his cronies came to, she walked away and headed off to find Michael. He was her superior now; well, him and Father, but mostly him now that their Father seemed to be out of the picture for the time being. She needed her orders. She knew that she was supposed to look after Dean and Sam, but now she wasn't so sure. Doubt began to creep into her, bringing back the recollection of Lucifer's recent visitation with her. _Her other brother was back..._

A tear streaked down her face as she remembered the bloodlines. Humans were taught that the Garden of Eden was the beginning of time, but that not true. It was the beginning of human life. There was Heaven, and that was the home of the angels. Michael, Lucifer, and she were anomalies in that they were blood related. God created the angels, yes, but he had created the three of them from the same part of his body, the first of his children. Lucifer was the first born, the eldest of the three. He was the original healer, beloved of God. Michael came next, but he was the warrior; he trained so hard, and the first task that he used his skills for was to cast his brother down. Finally, there was her, Ariel, another healer following in the steps of Lucifer, and... something else beside.

She should have noticed when God created the Garden that Lucifer was unhappy. They were all raised to love God as their Father, and Lucifer loved him so much. But when God made Eden, when he formed Adam, he ordered all angels to bow down to his newest creation. Lucifer tried; oh he tried so hard! But he couldn't. He begged God to treat both angels and humans equally, to not place one above the other. But Father wouldn't listen. That was the beginning of the battle.

Ariel was forced to choose sides at the very onset. It was like being the rope in a tug-of-war, only this time she was being torn apart by her brothers. It was with a heavy heart that she chose to side with Michael and Castiel, but she was too young then to understand what Lucifer was doing. He used his Sword and fought off the battalions as he tried to explain to them what he was doing, but his explanation fell on deaf ears. Soon, other angels joined Lucifer and torn Heaven apart; they were not following Lucifer's choice, but they wanted the power that God's left hand angel could give them if they joined him. They were the first, the Fallen.

The war lasted for two years, during the one hundredth year of her life: a year of brother against brother, sister against sister, son against Father. That was when Michael took his own Sword and 'smote' Lucifer, sending him down to the Earth and imprisoning him in Hell's cage. That was when Alastair, Heaven's first inquisitor, kidnapped her and brought her to Hell. She was his first, his angelic pupil. All that time she spent in Hell, she could only imagine what her brothers were thinking.

Coming back to the present, she knocked on the door of the war room. Michael called it that because he had nowhere else in the entirety of the Citadel where he could simply rant in private without losing face before his lieutenants. Hey, even the commander of the Heavenly Host had bad days, too.

"Come in." Pushing the doors aside, she came over to Michael and began to weep in his arms as he wrapped them around her. All of the pain, the agony, the hurt, came to the surface once more as the brother and sister tried to find solace in one another. Once again, they were forced to choose their sides, to choose to fight against their own flesh and blood, their own brother.

Michael used his powers to close the door for a moment of privacy; at this point, Ariel could have cared less. "Ari, I know."

"Why does this have to happen again?" She got out in between the sobs. "Why, Michael?"

"Because it is our destiny, Ariel. Because it has been foretold since our beginnings, that this was how it was going to end. Because our Father orders it so, Ari." At the mention of God, Ariel pushed away.

"'Our destiny'? Our destiny is to fight the Apocalypse once again? Michael, seriously. Our Father wants the two of us to kill our eldest brother?" She stood away from him, disgust riddling her face. "Michael, does our Father really not see how wrong that is?"

The hand rose through the air and slapped her across the face quicker than she could see. Ariel did nothing to stop it, but just let the pain echo through her. Michael's face was red with anger as he stood up. His wings and his eyes were steadily becoming black with rage. "Ariel, you are bordering on blasphemy. Be grateful that only I heard it." Ariel's heart broke in half as she listened to him. Blasphemy? It was the truth, or least, what truth she had been led to believe. I mean, really, what kind of a God would put his daughter through one and a half thousand years of hellish torment and four thousand years of exile in the guise of serving him, would make her choose sides between brothers, would make her seem less like his first daughter and more like his soldier?

Refusing to rub her cheek, she bowed before her brother. "What are your orders, general?" She had to get through this without showing her emotions.

Michael didn't seem to notice. "Go back down to Earth and watch over Dean. Consider these your only orders for the rest of the war. You are not to contact me or any of the other angels. You and your lover can stay on Earth until my mood has improved." He turned his back on her and let her dematerialize.

* * *

She landed in New York City, her old stomping grounds. Breathing out, she latched onto Dean's signature that she had discovered within the handprint on his shoulder. She ran as fast as she could to Castle Storage only to find that Dean and Sam were facing off against Zachariah.

"We did lose the Michael sword. We truly couldn't find it, until now. You've just hand-delivered it to us." Zach was standing before them, not paying any heed to the demon corpses laying on the ground. Ariel came up and stood behind Dean and Sam, her hand on her brother's Sword.

Dean shook his head. "We don't have anything."

Zachariah looked at the three of them as if they were three year olds. "It's you, chucklehead. You're the Michael sword." Ariel's brow furrowed as she looked from Dean to Zac. The Michael sword? Michael always carried his sword by his side. "What? You thought you could actually kill Lucifer, you simpering wad of insecurity and self-loathing?" Zac gave a sneer. "No. You're just a human, Dean, and not must of one at that."

"What do you mean, I'm the sword?" Dean just looked at Zac before feeling Ariel standing behind him.

"You're Michael's weapon. Or rather, his receptacle."

Dean's eyes shot up with confusion. "I'm a vessel?"

Zac continued his speech. "You're _the _vessel: Michael's vessel."

"But that's impossible. I saw Michael; he already has a vessel." Dean looked behind his shoulder to Ariel for some kind of confirmation.

"Dean, he can glamour the air to make him seem human, but for an extended stay on Earth, Michael needs a human form as his vessel." Ariel finally understood the prophecy. Michael must have known, but why didn't he tell her? Yet another stab in the heart, yet another tip in the scale for the Commander. He played her like a patsy from her sentence on, and she let him. What had happened to him to change Michael so? The brother that she held dear in her memories would have never thought twice about doing something like this to her.

Zachariah looked over at Dean, who just stood there baffled and asked, "How? Why me?" To that, Zachariah repeated the words that had been told to Dean for the last part of a year. "Because you've been chosen, Dean. It's a great honor." He was trying to dangle that in front of the hunter like bait. Did he not tell them that whatever happened to his body, he would feel? If he died, he would only come back to life?

Dean knew that, though. "Oh, yeah. Yeah, life as an angel condom. That's _real _fun. I think I'll pass, thanks." Ariel tucked her head to keep her from laughing; now was so not an appropriate time.

Zach shook his head. "Joking, always joking. Well..." he brought up his hand and made a gun with his thumb and index finger pointed in Dean's direction, "no more jokes." Turning the gun to Sam, he said, "Bang." Sam fell to the ground as both of his legs broke. He cried out and began to breathe through the excruciating pain, just like his dad had taught him.

Dean was livid. "You son of a bitch!"

But Zachariah wasn't having it. "Keep mouthing off, I'll break more than his legs. I am completely and utterly through screwing around. The war had begun. We don't have our general. That's bad." Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Ariel kneeling by Sam to make ready to heal him. "Ah, ah, ah, Ariel." Using his power, he lifted her from the ground and slammed her against his cronies. She was forced on her knees while her arms were wrenched behind her back; the Sword was taken from her, and she was made to watch.

Turning back to Dean, Zach continued his rant. "Now, Michael is going to take his vessel, and lead the final charge against the adversary. You understand me?"

Dean stood his ground toe-to-toe. "How many humans die in the crossfire, huh? A million? Five, ten?"

Zach conceded the point. "Probably more. If Lucifer goes unchecked, you know how many die? All of them. He'll roast the planet alive." Turning to Ariel, Zach used the Sword and cut through her shirt to reveal the sigils carved there. "She's Lucifer's sister. How can you trust her over me? So disobedient, this one, and now I can't punish her for her crimes because she's Michael's right hand."

"Because she's saved my life. She's fought beside me." And then it dawned on Dean. "There's a reason you're telling me this, instead of just nabbing me." His brow was furrowed as all the pieces so far came into place. "You need my consent. Michael needs my say-so to ride around in my skin." Ariel nodded.

Once again, although it was painful for him, Zach conceded the point. "Unfortunately, yes."

Dean tried to negotiate. "Well, there's got to be another way."

Zach found his footing in the debate. "There is no other way. There must be a battle. Michael _must _defeat the serpent. It's written." At that name, Ariel spat on the ground at Zach's feet.

"His name is Lucifer, not the serpent, dumbass, and he was your superior for almost one hundred years. Use it." That earned her a slap across the face to silence her.

Dean moved his head from side to side as if considering. "Yeah, maybe. But on the other hand..." now his face turned stern, "eat me. The answer's no."

Now the gloves were off, in a manner of speaking. "How about this?" Now it was Zach's turn to propose something. "Your friend Bobby; we know he's gravely injured. Uh... say yes, and we'll heal him. Say no, he'll never walk again."

Dean stood his ground. "No."

"All right then. Say yes, Ariel returns to your side completely healed. Say no, I rip out her Grace." Without waiting for an answer, Ariel felt her Grace being slowly yanked from her. Her eyes, mouth, and ears began to glow white as her vessel and her Grace were slowly being separated. Afriel screamed inside of her, breaking past the fake sigils and trying her best to keep her vessel whole

Still, Dean answered, "No."

Zachariah wasn't finished yet. "Then how about we heal you from... stage-four stomach cancer?" Dean began to gag as he went to his knees and coughed up blood. Still, his answer remained the same. "No."

"All right, let's get really creative. Uh... let's see how Sam does without his lungs." Now it was Sam's turn for more pain. He couldn't breathe, and he began to choke slowly. All around Zach, the three of them were in pain: Ariel struggling to keep her Grace inside of her; Sam with his broken legs and lack of lungs; Dean with the blood dripping from his mouth from the tumor and ulcers in his stomach. All that Zach said was, "Are we having fun yet?"

He knelt before Dean, and took his chin to make Dean stare at him. "You're going to say yes, Dean."

Dean nodded his head. "Yes, kill us."

Zachariah laugh. "Kill you? Oh no, Dean. I'm just getting started."

Suddenly behind him was a brilliant flash of light. Ariel fell to the ground and covered her face so that her Grace would stay in her vessel and not escape through her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. She didn't see what was happening, until she heard the voices again through her semi-muffled ears.

"How are you..."

"Alive? That's a good question." For a moment, Ariel's heart stopped. _Castiel?_ No, he was dead. Chuck had seen him. "How did these two end up on that airplane? Another good question. 'Cause the angels didn't do it. I think we both know the answer, don't we?"

"No. That's not possible." She could hear the shock in Zach's voice.

"It scares you. Well, it should. Now, put these boys and Ariel back together and go. I won't ask twice." She heard the rustling of the wings and then her Grace settled back into place. She took a massive gasp of air and turned to lay on her back. She felt a hand on her shoulder lifting her to her feet. Opening her eyes, she saw that he was real.

She placed her hand against the cheekbones of her lover, tracing the bones of his vessel's face. The blue of his eyes watched her face as it went from shock, to confusion, to happiness. He was real, he was alive, and this was no illusion. "How?"

Castiel simply shook his head. That was a conversation for another time. Turning back to the brothers, he carved a set of Enochian sigils into their ribcages to hide them from all angels. Then Sam asked, "How?"

At that, both of the angels disappeared.

* * *

Ariel returned later that night to the Impala. Dean and Sam were just standing there talking to one another. Ariel didn't have to have good hearing to know that Dean was telling Sam that he wasn't sure if he could trust him anymore after the whole demon blood mess. Sam just stood there and took it; Ariel saw that he wanted to be punished for this, that he wanted to feel guilty about this for a long time to come. Walking out of the shadows, she came towards them, only to receive an impressive right hook to her jaw.

"Why didn't you tell us, Ari?" Dean's eyes pleaded with her. She nodded her head. Leaning against the trunk of the Impala, she told her story.

"My brothers and I were the first angels to be created, Dean. Lucifer was a healer, like me. You wouldn't recognize him when you first hear of the Devil lore.

"You have to understand this, Dean. We were around long before Eden was created. We were God's favorites, his beloved. When he created Adam, he told all of us that we were to bow down to his new favourites. We, the angels, were shunted aside, all but forgotten as the children of the God. That's why so many of us are warriors, Dean: to keep the hurt from so long ago under wraps. And also, because we were ordered to become warriors.

"At this time, I was mated with Castiel. He and I were the first angel couple, and God couldn't be happier that his daughter was happy as well. But Lucifer tried so hard to follow God's orders. How would it feel, Dean, if all of the work that you did for your father was looked over because Sam was at Stanford, that nothing you did would be good enough for John? It was the same for Lucifer. He begged God to explain to him why he chose the humans over his first, to treat us both the same. But my Father didn't like that.

"The war began. Michael and Lucifer made me choose sides, and I reluctantly sided with Michael because God, Castiel, and my brother urged me to turn my back on Lucifer. He fought against the battalions for a second chance, but no one but me felt that he deserved it. After that, Michael smote down our oldest brother and locked him away in Hell. In order to make sure that no one was tempted to release him, he had Phanuel create the six hundred and sixty-six seals, making sure that only sixty-six were needed to free him. Soon after that, Alastair kidnapped me."

For a moment, there was silence. "Dean, Sam, imagine something tearing you apart and making the ones that you love having to choose between the two of you. That's what it was like for me. After I returned from Hell, I made sure never to think of Lucifer again, until now. But now he's free. And I don't know what side to choose..."


	13. Good God, Y'all!

Ariel stayed with the Winchester boys for the next three days; more specifically, she stayed in Bobby's hospital room to keep him company. Nothing major had happened: there had no messages from Castiel, no sign that Michael's mood was improving, and no sign of God. He had been missing since before her punishment for her perceived disobedience. It was as if her Father was in hiding now. Who knew why… Frankly, she didn't care anymore. If her dad wanted to be dead-beat, it wouldn't be like she hadn't experienced it. He had been dead-beat to her for almost all of her life.

Being around the brothers, she felt out of place and slightly off her game because of the sigils that Castiel had carved into their ribs. Before, she could sense them and find them using their essence. Now, she had to rely on human methods to remain in contact with the brothers. She spent what time she wasn't with Bobby getting a cellphone (using her powers to manipulate the human for a moment; it wasn't like she was under a microscope anymore to use her powers only for 'good') and boning up on her Scripture.

Thinking of him, she turned her attention back to Bobby Singer. The three of them were staying near St. Martin's, but Bobby was still suffering from Zachariah's wrath: he was bound to a wheelchair. For a man who prided himself on being active and maintaining his own ways of doing things, this was a low blow indeed. He just sat mostly, either in bed on in his wheelchair, staring out the window and generally feeling sorry for himself. She had read the chart at the foot of his bed; the doctors had little hope for Bobby getting back the strength to his legs enough for him to walk. This was a mortal injury for his pride and mobility.

She heard the footsteps and quiet voices of Dean and Sam as they stood near the doorway, discussing the sigils that Castiel had carved into his ribs. Dean, in a pretence of having some pain in his sternum, managed to get a x-ray of his chest. She had taken a look: Castiel had gotten better in his work. Much neater and cleaner in his markings.

Sam's phone rung. "Castiel?" Ariel looked up as he answered. "St. Martin's Hospital. Why?"

Ariel felt him as he walked into the halls. Castiel had the same problem that she did. But apparently, the boys didn't understand that yet. "A cellphone, Cas? Really? When do angels need to reach out and touch someone?" Dean looked confused, but Castiel was tired.

"You're hidden from angels, all angels, including Ariel and myself. I won't be able to simply-"

"Enough with the foreplay. Get over here and lay your damn hands on." Bobby spoke up from his wheelchair where Ariel was sitting near him. When Castiel didn't, Bobby looked over his shoulder. "Get healing! Now!" Ariel sighed; Castiel didn't have the power. Ever since she got her warrior's brand, neither did she.

"I can't." Castiel tried to answer gently, but that wasn't good enough for Bobby.

The older hunter turned his wheelchair around so that he faced the angel. "Say that again." He spoke it like a challenge, like a gunfighter in front of the OK Corral.

"I'm cut off from Heaven, and most of Heaven's power. Some things I can do, some things I can't." Ariel bowed her head. Ever since Castiel's mysterious resurrection, he had been banished from heaven. He was now a rogue, a loose cannon like her. Zachariah and Michael couldn't have that, and so they had teamed them together, much to her growing dislike. Castiel was confused without anyone to order him around; he had lived with that structure and rigidity for all his life, and now that he was without it, it was akin to watching a lost puppy sniff around for answers. Sure, he was still an angel, but he was just a warrior now, one with no connection to the heavens.

Bobby looked at Ariel expectantly, and now it was her turn to explain. "Castiel's not supposed to be alive, Bobby. Michael doesn't know what to make of it. So, Castiel's an outsider now: still of Heaven, but just under my orders now." She knelt before him to come to his level. "I used to have the power, Bobby, but when the Council made me a warrior, they stripped me of that."

"So you're both saying that you lost your mojo just in time to make me be stuck in this trap the rest of my time?" Bobby looked from her to Cas, fury in his eyes. Ariel knew that an apology was the last thing he wanted to hear. Cas didn't.

"I'm sorry." He shrugged his shoulders and tried to make Bobby feel better.

"Shove it up your ass." He looked at Ariel, who at least had the decency to look somewhat sorry.

Dean looked behind Cas to Sam. "Well, at least he's talking now."

Bobby, who had turned his chair back to face the window, spoke up again. "I heard that!" Ariel snorted in quiet laughter.

Castiel turned back to the boys. "I don't have much time, and we need to talk." He looked over at Ariel as she began to ignore him. "Your plan to kill Lucifer-"

Dean looked at Cas with a gleam of hope in his eyes. "Great! You wanna help?

"No. It's foolish. It can't be done." Cas looked over at Ariel again, but she was focused on the color of the windowsill. She was not going to listen to the boy's plans, as she had for the last three days, on how to kill Lucifer. Whatever he had done in the past, he was still her brother, and as of right now, the only one that cared a hoot in hell about her.

"Well, gee. Thanks for the support."

"But, I believe I know someone who can help." Ariel looked over to him with a dead look. "There is someone else besides Michael who is strong enough to take on Lucifer." Ariel stood off the bed and walked over to him. "Someone who's strong enough to stop the Apocalypse."

Sam looked slightly disbelieveing. "And who's that?"

Castiel looked with that fervent look in his eyes from one Winchester to the other. "The one who resurrected me and put you on that airplane. The one who began everything." When the brothers still didn't get it, Castiel said the name. "God."

Ariel just had to laugh. She honestly couldn't help herself. Castiel looked strangely at her at the unexpected reaction.

"That's a good one, Castiel. Tell me another one." She looked at Cas with that dead look in her eyes once more; if Dean didn't know any better, he would have thought that Afriel was back. But that was impossible. "You're joking, right, Cas? God is dead." She spat out the words like venom in her mouth. "He goes off for centuries at a time, coming back only now to get me back on track. From what Michael's relayed to me, God disappeared right before my punishment and hasn't been seen since. He's dead, Cas. He's not coming back. Michael's in charge now, and that is the end of it." Her anger flared up and it felt good.

He looked at her. "Please, have faith, Ariel. I'm going to find God." Castiel refused to give up. "He's not in heaven, so he has to be somewhere."

Dean tried his normal approach: sarcasm. "Try New Mexico. I hear he's on a tortilla."

Castiel didn't get it. "No, he's not on any flatbread."

"Look, Chuckles, even if there is a God, he's either dead, and that's the generous theory-"

"He is alive, Dean." Castiel refused to give.

"- or he just doesn't give a rat's ass about any of this. I mean, look around you, man. The world's going down the toilet. We are literally at the end of days, and he's off somewhere drinking booze out of a coconut." That was when Dean had a fist connect with the back of his head.

He looked up as Ariel looked down at him with black eyes. "That's my father, Dean. No matter where he is and how he abandoned me, understand that fact."

Dean cocked his head. "Welcome back, Afriel." Castiel looked in horror at his mate. He had believed that Afriel was still enchained; he had never seen Afriel loose before, and the change in his mate's demeanour with frightening.

Afriel smiled at him. "It's good to be back. Ariel here is just such a nice suit, plus the fact that I never left her. I just became quiet under those fake chains of her's. " She cocked her head and Ariel came back.

"Enough!" His eyes wary of her, Castiel turned back to Dean and continued to ignore her. "This isn't a theological discussion; it's strategical. With God's help, we _can _win!"

"It's a pipe-dream, Cas." Dean looked at him.

"I killed two angels this week. My brothers. I'm hunted; I rebelled, and I did it all for you. And you failed. You and your brother destroyed the world, and I lost everything, for nothing." Cas was right in Dean's face now, his mouth tight with anger; Ariel was proud of him for actually trying to be human. "Keep your opinions to yourself." He ground out the words between his teeth.

Bobby spoke up. "You didn't come here to tear us a new one. So, what is it that you want?" Ariel went back to the bed and sat down, watching Castiel cling to dead hopes.

"I did come for something. An amulet." Castiel looked at Bobby, who was getting interested.

"An amulet. What kind?"

"Very old. Very rare. It burns bright in God's presence. It'll help me find him."

"What, like a God EMF?" Sam still looked disbelieving, but Castiel wasn't helping them out with his crazy ideas.

"Well, I got nothing like that." Bobby looked thoughtfully upset.

"I know you don't, but someone else does." Castiel looked over at Dean; more specifically, he looked down at Dean's amulet. Reluctantly, he handed over the amulet before Castiel disappeared in his search.

Bobby broke the silence with, "Well, when you find God, tell him to send legs!"

* * *

Now it was just the four of them sitting in a hospital room. Ariel felt Dean's disbelief, Sam's utter confusion, and Bobby's pent-up anger at everyone for this mess. She herself felt sadness: sadness that she had to fight Lucifer again, sad that she had to, once again, choose a side. Afriel inside of her mind scoffed at her and tried to cheer her up with thoughts of being free again.

Just then, Bobby got a call on his cellphone. Ariel looked over her shoulder as he deciphered the words, 'Rufus, River Pass,' and 'Colorado' from the frenetic message. She gave the boys one look and walked out to the car. Castiel was outside waiting for her, waiting to confront her. "Ariel, why do you believe that our Father's dead?" He cocked his head and stared at his mate. "Why did you allow Afriel to stay within you? I thought…"

"You thought wrong, Cas." She ran her hand through her hair, trying to come up with a decent answer without shaking him senseless. "Why do I believe God's dead?" She lifted up her shirt and revealed all of the damage that Kushiel had done. "If he were alive, why did he put me through this for following his orders? If he were still here, why did he let my brother go free when he knows what Lucifer will do to this world?" She raised her hands in the air and began to pace around. "He has the power to end all this, and he's doing nothing! Again!" She turned back to him. "Why did I let Afriel stay? After all that Kushiel did to purge her from me? Because she's a part of me, Cas. She's the part that helps me get the things done that need to be done. The things that you can't stomach to do."

She leaned forward against the Impala. "When I was in Hell, Cas, she was one of the only things that kept me going. To her, I started out as a meatsuit, nothing more, but now, she understands why I seek forgiveness, and I understand why she was angry at me for the longest time for being a bloody pacifist. This," she unsheathed her brother's sword from her back, "this is power, Cas. The only power that anyone will listen to."

She looked him up and down, shaking her head the entire time. "You want to go find God, that's fine. But you just need to remember, that maybe he doesn't want to be found." With that, he disappeared once more as the brothers Winchester left the hospital and piled into the car. Ariel looked them both over and nodded her head. "Let's go."

* * *

They drove for a day and a bit as they reached a busted bridge that was the only was into the little town. Dean and Sam went around to the trunk and armed themselves. "Hey, Ari!" Dean called her around to the back. "Ever fired a gun before?"

She picked up a shotgun and turned it in her hands. "Actually no, Dean." She placed the butt of the gun against her shoulder bone and looked down along the sight. As she looked over the gun and saw the boys in shock, she laughed. "Yes, Dean. I've fired a gun. Hell, I've always liked the Winchester rifle. In fact," she materialized her favourite gun, and as she ran the strap over her shoulder, "I much prefer sniper rifles than hand-to-hand." A shiver ran down her spine. "That just reminds me too much of the Great Fall."

She picked up a belt of bullets and armed herself. Looking at the stunned brothers, she smiled before taking a run and jumping over the break in the road to land on the other side of the crack. "Come on!"

When the brothers caught up with her (they had to climb down the rubble before climbing up), they walked down the main road. The cars were flipped over, but there were no people. All three of them kept their weapons ready in case anything jumped them.

Dean turned around and faced down the barrel of a Glock. Ariel was about to shoot the person full of rock salt when she saw that she had no black eyes. Plus, the boys recognized her.

"Ellen?" Sam looked unbelieving at her.

"Hello, boys." She then pointed her gun at Ariel. "Who the hell's she?"

Ariel motioned for the boys to relax. "I'm Ari. I'm a hunter like the boys." She made her voice deeper, more serious. "They picked me up on their way here; I wanted to visit family here in the town when we all found this." She felt the boys stare at her and accept her story. The less people knew that there were angels walking the earth among man, the better.

Ellen looked her over before splashing her face and Dean's face with holy water. As was normal, nothing happened. Afriel hated the feel of holy water, but Ari was able to negate the effect, using her own self like a shield to protect her other half. She didn't seem bothered by this; Dean was annoyed. "It's really us, Ellen."

Without another word, she brought the boys to the nearby church. She made them walk over salt lines and a devil's trap as a secondary test; there was a slight break in the circle and the line, letting her walk across without any problems. When all three of them passed the test, Ellen turned around and hugged Dean. "Damn, I've missed you boys." Pushing herself away from Dean, she slapped him across the face. "D'you know how much I should kick yer ass right now? You can't pick up a phone? What, are you allergic to giving me peace of mind? I have to find out you're out of Hell from Rufus?" She looked up and down the elder Winchester with motherly disappointment. "You'd better put me on speed-dial, boy, or else…"

"What's the situation here, Ellen?" Ari broke up the fight. Now was so not the time for them for be arguing with each other.

"Your guess is as good as mine, girl." She led them down the stairs into the rectory. "Rufus called me, yelling for help. Jo and I came-"

"You're hunting with Jo now?" Sam asked that question. Ari looked between the boys. An old relationship, perhaps?"

"Yeah, for a while now. Anyway, found the town like this. Went to go find Rufus and we got separated. I was just out there trying to find Jo when I bumped into you three. Tried to make a run for it, but that didn't work too well." When they reached the door, she knocked twice and told the person behind it that it was Ellen. When they got past the guard, Ariel took in the nine people waiting by the table nibbling on crackers.

"This is Dean, Sam, and Ari. You can trust them." There was one, a soldier, that looked more at ease when the introductions were made.

"What, Ellen, did the whole town go demonic?" Sam inquired, and Ellen nodded her head but her shoulders sagged.

"Yeah, Sam." She looked over to the pregnant woman. "We're stuck here." When Dean tried to make her reconsider the escape plan, Ellen shook her head. "We already tried that, Dean. It didn't work."

"Well, what happened?"

"There used to be twenty of us." Dean and Sam looked around the room one more time as Ari leaned on the wall.

"Well, we need more guns and salt. Lots of salt." The boys looked at her like she was nuts. "Guys, even I know that you fight demons with salt buckshot." Ellen looked confused, and Ari sighed. "Ellen, I lied earlier. I'm a hunter, but I'm much more."

Immediately, a gun got pointed at her face. "Explain, now."

She pushed the muzzle of the gun aside as she materialized Lucifer's blade into her hand. "Padre, tell this hunter the genealogy of angels from the Book of Enoch. How there were three: two brothers and a sister. One, the eldest son and healer, was destined to fall, one, the second son and warrior, was destined to lead, and one, the daughter, was an enigma. Well, I'm the enigma. My brothers are Michael and Lucifer. This is my oldest brother's sword." She placed it on the table for the priest to examine.

When everyone looked at her like she was insane, she dimmed the light and let her wings show as shadows against the wall before bringing the lights back to normal. Needless to say, everyone was shocked with the exception of the brothers and the priest. "So, if you're all done gawking, I'm getting more weapons." Dean and Sam followed her through the door, but she left them to have their little argument that had been brewing between them since they entered the rectory.

She entered the hunting store and cleared out the racks of shotguns and shell casings. Sam had gone to get salt, and Dean soon joined her. She placed her hand on the metal and looked at Dean.

"Dean, why do you still believe that Sam will go darkside?" That made him jump out of his boots. She placed her armload of guns back on the shelf and looked him in the eye.

"Because, I don't trust him anymore, Ari." He glared at her. "He chose a demon over me! He drank demon blood! He was the one to make the choice to go darkside, not me!"

"Maybe, Sam is hoping to do good, Dean. There is a phrase, Dean: The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. All three of us know that better than anyone else. He wants to earn your trust back, but you need to give an inch, Dean." That was all she said as she gathered up the guns and made to run back to the church. "Go get Sam, Dean. Talk to him."

* * *

Later that afternoon, Ellen and Sam went on another reconnaissance mission to find both Jo Harvelle and Rufus Turner. Dean and Ari stayed behind to teach the civilians how to fire the weapons that they had commandeered.

Ellen knocked on the door and Dean let her in. But Sam wasn't with her any more. She told them all that the demons had gotten him, but he was still alive. Worse still, Rufus and Jo had become possessed. Ari furrowed her brows. How could they be possessed if both of them were wearing their anti-possession amulets as Dean told them that they always did? Suddenly, he grabbed a Bible.

The priest came over to her as Dean read from the Bible. "Dean, what are you looking for?"

"Those omens that Rufus came here to investigate: a disease on the river, a shooting star." He stopped his page-flipping and read from Revelations. "And there fell a great star from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell upon the river, and the name of the star was wormwood. And many men died." They looked at each other.

"Shit. It's War." She ran her hands through her hair. She was shocked above... many other things.

The priest looked stunned between the two of them. "You mean, the Horsemen? This is the _Apocalypse?_"

Ariel spared him a glance. "Buckle up, Padre. You're in it for the long haul now." She looked around at the crowd. Her mind went through the town. "Dean! The Mustang!" As they had entered the town, they saw a cherry-red Mustang. What other mode of transportation would the Horseman of War choose to ride in this era?

Something caught the corner of her eye. A man was twisting his ring. For a split second, she saw him. He made a run for it and she followed him. Behind her, she heard shouts as Dean and Ellen were run out as well. They went to go find the other three hunters. She was after War.

She beat him to the Mustang. He had taken the form of a business man, but his face was cool and collected.

"Hello, beautiful." He leaned against his car as he took her in. "Damn, you haven't changed a bit, Afriel."

She let her demon half come out. "Hello, Tiesen." She went up to him and took in his face before kissing him. "Damn, it's been too long. Ariel here was shocked to see you again and is confused about what to do with you, but I don't give a rat's ass either way."

When she was in Hell, Afriel and Ariel were good friends with Tiesen and his brothers Gaelen (he represented Death), Chale (he represented Pestilence), and Rika (he represented Famine). They were the Four Horsemen, the harbingers of the Apocalypse and of the Anti-Christ. Ariel enjoyed the company, because Tiesen and Chale both would talk to the meatsuit as well. For being four of the most powerful supernatural beings on both sides of the schism, they were quite polite.

"How is Ariel, by the way?"

"She's conflicted. She's confused." She snickered as they talked for a moment. "She doesn't know anymore which side is the right one. Only took her the four thousand years of her service."

Tiesen looked down at Afriel with a scolding look. "Afriel, the five of us serve as a balance. That's your role, and mine, and my brothers. We are the fulcrum in this screwy world: are, have been, and will forever be." His face turned into an evil smile. "But you gotta make like a good little demon and scat. The brothers are coming."

Afriel had a sad look on her face as she let Ariel come back. With a single motion, the Sword was in her hands and Tiesen was at her 'mercy'. Dean and Sam came and sliced off the finger that held his ring. In a moment's time, Tiesen and his Mustang vanished. The siege of River Pass was over.

* * *

The three of them sat by a table outside of the town to relax. Ariel never told him what she and War had discussed. That was for her and Afriel alone.

She saw Sam leave and sighed. She had listened to the conversation from a distance. Sam and Dean were going to part ways for a while until they could trust one another again. She got up and stopped Sam, giving him a nod and her cell number. He gave her an embrace before leaving.

Turning back to Dean, she sighed and spoke. "So, what's next?"

**AN: That whole bit about the Book of Enoch and the genealogies of the angels, I made that up. Sorry for the lack of updates. By next week, I will have 5.03 and 5.04 done and ready for 5.05. IG**

**AN: Thanks to silver ruffian for the use of the Horsemen's names. Check out his story, "The Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" for an awesome Apocalypse story!**


	14. Free to be You and Me

Ariel stayed with Dean for the next two weeks as Dean tried to cope without Sam. To do that, he dove headlong into his work. Vampires, demons… whatever it took, he did it. Even so, Ariel could see that he missed Sam. Both of them knew that she was a poor replacement for a brother, a blood relative, a lifelong companion, but Sam and Dean had to work out their issues. In order to do her 'temporary sidekick' work, as Dean titled it, she began to learn more about being a hunter. If she was going to spend so much time with Dean, then it was best that she learned his trade.

The first thing that he did was show her his father's journal. That was a whole guide to all things supernatural; quite educational, as she committed it to memory. Then, it was all a matter of practical application. Their first stop was making her some false ID badges. At this junction, she didn't care if it was wrong to manipulate humans like that. Humans were cannon fodder right now, for both Ari and Afriel; most of them were worthless sacks of meat, easily distracted by the next shiny thing. She just wanted to keep an eye on Dean. The clothes weren't a big issue: she manipulated the weak minds and stole the clothes that she and Dean needed. Dean taught her some of the nuances to pretending to be a federal agent or a law enforcement officer. By the time the two weeks were up, she was pretty good at it, sometimes even coming up to Dean's standards. The second step was setting the boundaries. Ari was allowed to hunt, but as Dean's second. She was to watch his back, and not to dive headfirst into danger. Also, she was never allowed to drive the Impala. That was Dean's pride and joy. She rode shotgun, and she didn't mind it; in fact, she enjoyed listening to the old mullet rock that was Dean's addiction on the long road trips.

Castiel found them later as Dean was cleaning the vampire blood off his jacket and she was cleaning the shotgun that Dean had indefinitely loaned her from his trunk. Dean was shocked and told him to give him some personal space. Ari didn't pay much attention to the conversation until Cas asked, "Where's Sam?"

Dean folded up the jacket that he had just been cleaning and tucked it in his bag. "Sam and I… are taking separate vacations for a while." Ari saw that he was conflicted, and she knew exactly what was going through his head. She and Michael were on that same plateau: taking 'separate vacations' until her brother was willing to talk to her again. The question was, when that time came around, would Ari have forgiven him for playing her like that? Likewise and yet differently, Dean wanted Sam to be safe, but he also couldn't trust him. From what she understood from the sparse details that she gleaned from their few conversations and from the intel that she knew from her prison time in the Citadel, Sam drank demon blood to try and kill Lilith, to save people, to make some good from his powers. But it got out of control. He tried to stop it several times, but he kept using and using. Dean tried to get him to detox, going as far as locking him in Bobby's panic room; that worked until Castiel set him free by orders of Zachariah (but Dean didn't need to know that). In the end, he was manipulated into using the powers to kill Lilith and set Lucifer free. Dean wanted so badly to trust him, but he couldn't find it in him to do it, yet.

She knew that, knew that feeling so well. She was the same with Michael and Lucifer. She wanted so badly to trust Michael, to trust God that what they were doing was right. However, he had lost that trust, even if he still expected her to follow his orders blindly. But Lucifer had a point, too. Humans were destroying this planet, the last true handiwork of God. If humans were out of the picture, then what a world this would be. However, he wasn't the greatest model of trust and honor, what with being locked in Hell for the last six thousand years. Where was that line that she was meant to follow, the one that separated right from wrong, from brother and brother?

"So, d'you find God yet? More importantly, can I have my damn necklace back, please?" Dean turned to face Cas as Ari put aside the shotgun and sprawled out on the bed to watch.

"No, I haven't found him. That's why I'm here: I need your help." Ari shook her head slightly. Cas really needed to take the stick out of his ass. What did she ever see in him? How did she ever fall in love with him? Personally, she had held a small light for him for a long time, but he had done nothing to make her believe that he reciprocated any of her past feelings.

"With what: the God hunt? Not interested." Dean rolled up his sleeves and looked at Cas with an expecting look on his face.

"No, it's someone else." Cas looked around, trying to not stare at Ari in horror as she sat up. She had most definitely changed, and he thought for the worst. She looked more now like a female version of Dean: flannel shirts, worn jeans, Timberlands. She even made the illusion of the anti-possession tattoo that Dean had on her shoulder. Afriel wasn't too pleased with that, but she was powerful enough to overcome it. Her face was framed with a minute scowl, but it was the weight of humanity: she had given up hope... completely given up.

Dean still talked. "Who?"

"An archangel. The one that controlled the seraphim that killed me." This got Ari's attention, but she still kept her mouth shut. The third lesson that Dean had taught her: always watch before engaging. This, she knew all too well from her service on Earth.

"Excuse me?" Dean didn't get it.

"His name is Raphael."

"You were torched by a teenage mutant ninja angel?" Ari stood up and finally spoke.

"How did you find out?" She crossed her arms over her chest as she peered at him with narrowed eyes. "You haven't been to the Citadel."

"I listened to the messages, Ariel, from before this started." Castiel's voice was blunt with her. "I heard the orders that Raphael gave Chamuel: to guard the prophet from anyone that threatened to harm him. I traced his voice to his location."

"Whoa, wait." Dean looked over at Ari. "You know him?"

"Yes. Raphael was the co-healer alongside me. Apparently, a lot has changed since I've began my service. I don't remember him controlling seraphim." Ari tucked the shotgun in Dean's bag and ran her fingers through her tousled hair.

"Well, I've heard the whispers that he himself is walking the earth now. This is a rare opportunity."

Dean shrugged his shoulders and tried to brush it off. "For what? Revenge?"

Castiel corrected him in that monotone voice. "Information."

"What, you think you can find this dude and he'll spill God's address?" Dean walked over to the sink to clean up his mess.

"Yes." Castiel didn't move from his spot. Ari shook her head; he really needed to learn how to act more human. "Because we are going to trap and interrogate him."

Ari's eyebrows shot to her hairline. "Do you know what you're talking about, Cas? You want to trap the fifth most powerful archangel in the history of Heaven's records, and grill him for info?"

That definitely got Dean's attention. He leaned against the sink and looked at Cas, trying to see if this was for real. "You're serious about this?" He made some random movie reference, something about a Thelma and a Louise that neither of the angels got. He took the knife from his belt as he asked, "Give me one good reason why I should do this."

"Because you're Michael's vessel. No angel will dare harm you."

Dean turned back as he tucked the knife in with the shotgun. "So I'm your bullet shield?" Ari looked at Cas with a cocked eyebrow: not a good way for him to get their help.

"Because I need your help. Because you are the only two that will help me." Cas tried his best to show his desperation, but that didn't work too well. It made him look slightly constipated instead.

Dean and Ari shared a glance, and she nodded her head. Dean looked back at Cas, and acquiesced. "All right, fine. Where is he?"

"Maine. Let's go." Cas made to place his fingers against Dean's forehead to zap him across several stateliness when Dean backed away.

"Whoa, whoa!" Cas looked confused as Ari just chuckled. "Last time you zapped me someplace, I didn't poop for a week! We're driving."

* * *

The three of them drove in relative silence (save for the Led Zeppelin tape that Dean tucked into the player) as they reached Maine. Cas took a good look at what Ari had become. She was more and more human as the days passed. She seemed pissed at him for some reason, but he couldn't figure out why. She refused to talk to him, instead talking only to Dean when they made pit stops along the way.

When they reached the town, Dean and Cas went to go interrogate the local deputy sheriff (apparently, he had seen Raphael and lived without any injury) as Ari found them suiting accommadations. The only thing that Cas asked was that it was unused and private. So, she found them a dilapidated house on the outskirts of town. She knew that Dean and Cas were going to take a while, so she headed out to the local diner for some much needed food. Ari discovered slowly that the longer she stayed on the earth plane, the more food she needed to consume and the more sleep she needed. That was all right by her: she always enjoyed trying new things.

It was mid-evening when Dean returned, alone; he had called earlier for directions to the place. She looked up from John Winchester's journal (she paged through it to keep herself sharp) when he came through the door. "Where's Cas?" Ari looked around to see if he would appear behind her.

"Went somewhere. Don't know where." Dean's movements seemed a little unsure as he unpacked his weapons; he never felt safe without them nearby.

"Dean, what's wrong?" She placed the journal aside and walked up to him.

"Ari, are you possessing someone?" Dean looked confused when she laughed.

"Dean, no." She cleared her throat as she explained. "My Father gave me a special gift before my service began and after he rescued me from Hell. That gift allowed me to become a chameleon of sorts: I could change my appearance at will. Some things I can't change, like my wounds from Hell, or the brands on my arm. Soon after, however, I stuck with one style of a vessel and kind of became that vessel. When I'm on Earth, I have my own custom-made vessel without possessing someone like Cas or Michael have to." Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him. "Why are you asking now?"

Dean sat in the old armchair that she had just vacated. "Cas and I just went to St. Martin's Hospital and found Raphael's vessel. He's a vegetable." He looked up at her. "Cas says that it would be worse for me if I let Michael ride in my skin."

She nodded her head. "Yeah, Dean. You would be in a vegetative state for the rest of your life, your only purpose left to simply be Michael's vessel whenever he came to Earth." She saw that this totally freaked him out, so she walked forward and put a hand on his shoulder. "That's why any angel needs permission to ride around in a human. That human has to understand all of the consequences of being ridden around."

Just then, Cas came back. He had an ancient amphora in his hand. "Where've you been?" Dean stood up and looked at him.

"Jerusalem."

"Oh, how was it?" Dean put a smile on his face and tried to grimace as Castiel graced them with his appearance.

"Arid." He put the jar down on the table.

"What's that?" Dean looked at the jar with apprehension.

"Oil. Very special; very rare." Cas sat down in the chair opposite of Dean and looked at the corner across the room.

"Great. We're going to trap Raphael with a nice vinagrette?" Dean wasn't convinced, but Ari took one sniff of the oil and knew its purpose.

"No."

"So this ritual of yours, when's it gotta go down?"

"Sunrise."

"What ritual, Castiel?" Ari looked at him with her hands on her hips, demanding some answers.

"We're going to summon Raphael and question him." That got her laughing.

"Man, Cas, you're one crazy sonofabitch, you know that? Summon the archangel of the seraphim and question him…" Dean looked at Ari with a plead in his eyes, and she reassured him. "Oh, don't worry. It's doable. Just, I don't think Raph takes well to being summoned by supposedly dead angels, is all."

Dean turned back to Cas. "Do we have any chance of surviving this?"

Cas looked at him and nodded. "You and Ariel do."

Dean looked at him. "So odds are, you're a dead man tomorrow?"

Cas answered. "Yes."

Dean began to walk closer to the door. "So, last night on Earth: what're your plans?"

Cas remained seated. "I thought I'd just sit here quietly."

That led into a rather embarrassing thread of conversation where Dean found out that Cas was still a virgin. Dean shot a look at Ari who just shook her head. "You two never?"

"Well, it's not like we had time, Dean." Ari tired her best to hide her chuckle. "Though, trust me, I had plenty of offers from others." Dean shot her a look, but she shook her head. "Take Cas out, Dean. God knows, he needs it." And that was the end of that conversation.

* * *

The next morning, Dean and Cas left for the hospital, while Ari stayed at the house. Two was enough to gather attention, but three was just too many to remain out of sight. Besides, they would mostly be waiting. They did have an alternate plan, and that was where she came in. It was nearing sundown when they came back. Ari just left her seat when Raphael's vessel entered the room. It was a shower of lightning bolts and thunder as he slowly entered his vessel. She just watched as her once-best friend came for a visit. At that point, Dean and Cas entered the house.

"Castiel." Raphael's voice was deeper now, more lethal. His vessel was that of an African American mechanic, but even still, his aura had changed. He wasn't the healer that he once was. Something had drastically changed.

"Raphael." Cas motioned for Dean to stay near the wall as he walked forward to confront the archangel.

"Ariel." The cold brown eyes bored into her, but for once, the presence of Afriel gave her strength.

"Raph." She addressed him by his old nickname, but it had no effect on him.

"Funny, and I thought you were supposed to be impressive. All you did was make a nice light show." Dean chose sarcasm to make himself known as he walked to Cas' side.

"And control the seraphim that smote you the first time, and and black out the entire eastern seaboard." Raphael turned his attention back to Cas. "It's a testament to my unending mercy that I don't smite you here and now, Castiel." Ari's brow creased as a thought hit her: when had Raphael gotten this sinister? What was the puzzle piece she was missing? "You too, Ariel. Your brother is not too impressed with your actions, and he told all of us to, if we saw you again, to remind you of your place.

"Or maybe you're full of crap." Ari shot Dean a look that made him re-think his words. "Maybe you're afraid that God will bring Cas back again, and smite you and your candy-ass skirt." Raph's look bore a hole into Dean, figuratively at least for now. "By the way, I'm Dean."

"I know who you are, and thanks to him, I know where you are."

Castiel looked at the archangel in horror. "You won't kill him. You wouldn't dare."

"But I will send him to Michael." Ari growled, trying to keep Afriel in.

"Well, that sounds terrifying. It really does." Dean was scared, Ari could see it, but he was trying his damnedest not to let anyone see it. He walked over to the fireplace where a cooler was. Grabbing a beer, he opened it to have something to do with his hands, tossing one over to Ari. "But, I hate to tell you. I'm not going anywhere with you." Then, to further insult Raphael, he turned his back on him and took a deep swig of beer.

But that didn't fool Raphael for a second. "Surely you remember Zachariah giving you stomach cancer?" Ari winced at that: she remembered that, too. Getting your Grace slowly yanked out of you was never a feeling that you forgot.

Dean's face, from what Ari could see, turned scared for a moment before regaining his composure. "Yeah, that was just hilarious."

Raphael began to move closer to him. "Well, he doesn't have anything close to _my _imagination."

Dean shot a look to Castiel that went unnoticed by the angry archangel in the room. "Well, I bet you didn't imagine one thing."

Raphael was getting frustrated with the games. "What?" His voice was getting gruff.

Dean's face turned into a grimacing smug. "We knew you were coming, you stupid son of a bitch." With that, both Castiel and Ari ignited the lighters in their hands and lit the ring of oil that Raphael had unwittingly stepped into. A ring of angel-fire encompassed Raphael as he stood there and watched. Now, he couldn't leave the circle without killing himself.

Dean looked shocked by the results. "Hey, don't look at me. It was his idea." Cas glared at him.

Cas looked at the archangel. "Where is he?"

Raph crossed his arms over his chest and looked at him. "God? Didn't you hear? He's dead, Castiel."

Dean and Castiel looked at each other before looking at Ari. She only stood there and shook her head. What Raph had said had only re-affirmed what she already believed. "But there's no other explanation. He's gone."

Cas wouldn't accept that. "You're lying."

"Am I?" Raph's voice began to tinge with something bordering on sympathy. "Do you remember the 20th century? You think the 21st is going any better?" He nodded with his chin over to where Ari was standing. "She's living proof that God doesn't care anymore, Castiel. What kind of a Father would let his firstborn daughter rot in Hell for over a thousand years, and then sentence her to four thousand years of servitude to the humans?" His gaze turned back to Castiel. "You think God would've let any of this happen if he were alive?"

Dean, being quintessentially Dean, tried to lighten up the moment. "Oh yeah? Then who invented the Chinese basket trick?"

Ari was tempted to punch Dean again; didn't he learn his lesson the first time she hit him? Raph had the same idea when he growled out, "Careful, boy. That's my father you're talking about."

Dean wouldn't stop there. "Oh yeah. He'd been so proud that his sons started the friggin' Apocalypse." He put his beer down on the window sill and looked out for a moment.

"Who ran off and disappeared. Who left no instructions, and a world to rot." The sympathy was gone from his voice. "He only came back when Ariel's service was over to make sure that the demon hadn't taken a deeper hold on her. Then he left us again."

"So Daddy ran away…" Dean stole a quick look at Raphael as he walked back to Castiel's side; Ari took up a post against the wall nearest to Dean. "He didn't happen to work for the post office, did he?"

Afriel barely came loose, but she controlled herself. Raphael always had more will power than her. "You think this is funny? You're living in a Godless universe!" Now, it was almost like pity coating his voice.

That answer wasn't good enough for Dean. "And? You guys decided to throwing a friggin' Apocalypse while he was gone?"

Finally, the truth came out. "We're tired. We just want it to be over. We just want… paradise." Now that was something that Ari understood well.

"So, what? God dies and makes you the boss? And you decide to do whatever you want?" Dean was getting up there on the anger scale, but he was not quite close yet to furious as Raph stayed so nonchalant at all this.

"Yes! And whatever we want, we get!" The wind, whistling in all of its gale force, forced the window behind them open. Cas went to protect Dean from the worst of the glass breaking, but Ari stayed where she was.

"If God was dead, then why am I still here?" Castiel's voice was beginning to strain against the volume of the howling wind.

Raphael just stood there and remained cool about it all. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe Lucifer brought you back?" Ari snapped her head over to him at the mention of her brother. That was one avenue of though that hadn't occurred to her. Lucifer did own province over that power; it was never taken away from him during the Fall.

However, that wasn't a good answer for Cas. "No."

Raph resisted a chuckle. "Think about it. He needs all the little rebellious angels he can find. You know it adds up."

That was enough for Cas. "Let's go." He looked to Dean and Ari before making to leave.

"Castiel!" Raph's voice raised a bit. "I'm warning you. Do not leave me here." Fire began to dance around his eyes. "I will find you."

Ari made her exit, but not before she heard Castiel's reply. "Maybe one day, but today, you're my little bitch."

* * *

Ari was exhausted as she made for the Impala. She could barely focus in the rainstorm. She let Dean drive and Cas ride shotgun; all she cared about is sleep…

Tomorrow was another day. They now had archangels after them for blood, the hordes of Heaven and Hell looking for them to fight in their war, and the lines were yet to be clearly drawn. This, as Benjamin Franklin once said, was going to be a bad war that led to a good peace. But what would that peace have in store for them all…


	15. The End

**AN: The names of the Horsemen again belong not to me, but to silver ruffian.**

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* * *

**Dean couldn't believe what was going on. One minute, he was in his room in Kansas City, enjoying what sleep he was able to get between conversations with Cas and Sam, Ari by the window keeping watch. The next, he was Apocalypse Town, no Ari in sight, and no answers, not yet anyway. The dick-angel's explanation: he had been transported... _to the future?_ Zach said that they wanted him to marinate. Them who? The angels? He had to spend three days here? But what about Sam? And what was the deal with the Croatoan virus? What the hell had happened to this place?

To top it off, his baby was in ruins. He had stopped at Bobby's house, looking for some answers. But Bobby was dead; he had found his wheelchair riddled with bullet holes, one directly where his heart would've been had he been sitting in the chair. So, he followed the bread crumbs that Bobby hid around the house that led him to Camp Chitaqua, a heavily armed camp of sorts. His baby was in decrepit ruins: what the hell had happened to him to make him stop caring for her?

Now, he was talking to himself, literally. The carbon copy of him from 2014 had asked for the reason why he was here, when he had finally ascertained that he wasn't a shapeshifter or demon. When Dean of 2009 answered that Zach had sent him here, Dean of 2014 seemed really interested in the angels. He wanted to talk to them, but 2009 Dean didn't know how.

Well, at least, Dean from 2014 was finally giving him answers. Only took him shooting a man in front of him and revealing the 'Parent Trap'-ness of their situation to the rest of the men to get them. The Croatoan virus was released in 2011, and there was no stopping it. Whole cities had become quarantined to at least contain the virus. There were military troops stationed at each city to kill off the people with the virus. Sam was dead, from some showdown in Detroit. Apparently, he and Sam hadn't spoken since they parted ways after River Pass. Which led him to his next question to 2014 Dean.

"What about Ari? What's her deal? Did she go back to the angels?" 2014 Dean put down the whiskey that he was tossing back with ease and began to walk out of the house and into a cellar, curling his finger behind him. 2009 Dean followed, but his eyes couldn't believe what was happening. They were back to torturing again? All he could see were the tools: the knives, the pipes, the holy water, the salt. Then he saw it; wasn't sure if it was a female or male. Half in dark, half in light, it hung from the ceiling, its wrists chained to the ceiling, its ankles to the floor.

"Wake up!" 2014 Dean slapped the person across the face hard enough to echo in the damp room. 2009 Dean heard a moan and the head turn from side to side. 2014 Dean grabbed her chin and lifted her into the light for 2009 Dean to see. _Ari? _But how? Her shirt was half-torn off, showing off the scars that she got from her punishment in Heaven but also newer wounds, violently red and jagged against her torso. Her arms were bruised and welted, like she had been beaten with a baseball bat. Dean took another look at the shackles around her wrists and ankles: they were laden with sigils that kept her from zapping out of here. Was that Cas' doing?

"What the hell?" 2009 Dean made to walk forward, but 2014 Dean stopped him."Don't. She's Hell's bitch now." Ari chuckled sinisterly at that. "She sided with Lucifer a year before the massive showdown in Detroit. She's his right hand demon, angel, whatever she is."

"What? How's that possible?" The men looked each other, one a soldier and one a civilian. Both of hem had their secrets almost written clearly on their faces, while some of the other secrets were hidden in plain sight.

"Because." That was Ari. 2009 Dean was shocked by the look in her black eyes as she leered at him. "I was so sick of watching you dick around, fumble and drop the ball all the time. You abandoned your own brother looking for the Colt; you lost his love as a younger brother, and you lost my trust. So I disobeyed, again. I found my oldest brother; begged to join his side. He didn't say a word about the length of time, or about proving myself. He just welcomed me with open arms, the first time in five thousand years that one of my brothers actually cared for me. Besides, I was tired of watching the mud monkeys mess up our world. This was a beautiful planet, and it was our home long before God ever thought to make you. I loved God, and Lucifer was right all along. We both loved our Father, but when he abandoned me, when he sent my oldest brother to Hell, for becoming something other than his plans... That, you could say, was the turning point in our relationship." Her eyes turned from 2009 Dean to 2014 Dean, taking in their reactions.

"So, what?" 2009 Dean was really confused at this point, while 2014 Dean just leaned against the work table. "You stopped following your orders out of the blue?"

"Dean, I had stopped following my orders around the time you and my dickless ex-boyfriend summoned Raphael to that craphole of a house. Everyone that I had ever trusted, except you, had abandoned me and manipulated me. When you did it as well, well... let's just say that I wasn't the same again. And besides, Afriel gave me a hand with dealing and finding another way." She leaned back against the chains as far as they would let her, almost like she was lounging around. "She was right all along. Power is in authority over others, and what you choose to use it for. I had so much power, and then it was time to harness it." She began to leer at the Dean doppelgangers like they were the same insignificant bug. "I'm in league with the Four Horsemen now."

"What, like War?" 2009 Dean raked his fingers through his hair.

"Yes, Tiesen." She relished the name on her tongue. "His brothers Chale, Rika, and Gaelen would really like to meet you. Tiesen, especially. Wants to pay you back for taking off his finger." She clucked her tongue. "Not very nice, Dean. Not very nice at all."

2009 Dean just stood there. "What the hell happened to you, Ari?"

She growled at him. "Have you not been listening? Oh, I forgot! Dean Winchester does not listen to the angels. Not even me. Not even to a friend that just wanted to see this end before ultimate casualties. What was I ever thinking when I thought we ever had anything in common with each other?" She stared from one Dean to the next before settling on 2014 Dean. "So what, another round of torture? Wanna make sure that the info you pulled from me is legit?"

2014 Dean just scoffed. "No. You're coming with us. Big brother wouldn't harm little sister." With that, Dean hit her with the butt of his Beretta, knocking her out cold. The only sound were the clinking of her chains as she went limp and hung from them again.

* * *

Dean saw her beginning to come to in the back of Cas' truck as they drove into Jackson City, a massive Croatoan hot zone according to Cas when he and the underground leaders were planning this back at camp. He stole another look at his angel buddy. Cas, too, had changed with time. He wasn't an angel, not anymore. Man, he was more hedonistic than Dean ever was on his best day: orgies, absinthe, amphetamines? Don't get him wrong, he liked this new Cas, but was it worth the price?

"Hell, Dean, you gotta learn to keep your thoughts to yourself." He turned more in his seat to look at her; he heard Cas take a tighter grip on the wheel. Ari was tied up in the back; the shackles were gone from her wrists, replaced with a neck manacle etched with the same symbols. The toughest rope they had tied her arms and legs together so that she was like a caterpillar, unable to move without belly-crawling. Another length of rope was tied to the back of her neck manacle, almost like a crude leash. Blood still dripped from her temple down her face as she looked up at him. "I mean, jeez, stop projecting like that. You're making my head hurt."

"Well, you're a bitch, you know that, right?" Ari just laughed when Dean said that.

"Yeah, your copycat's been telling me that for a long time now, Dean." For a moment, she sounded like the old Ari: fun, mortal-like. "What other divine wisdom you wanna impart on me, Winchester?" Dean stole a look back at her; her eyes were back to normal now.

"Stop thinking, Dean. Please." Her black eyes returned in a heartbeat, but it was still Ariel talking. "Afri and I are one in the same now. Well, I don't torture anymore, but Gaelen showed me ways to make you mud monkeys die so painfully, it was almost poetic."

"You never answered my question." Dean turned and faced her completely, all his attention on her.

"Oh? And what question was that?" She was being coy now, toying with him.

"What happened to you, Ari? Why?" She scoffed at the second question.

"Why? Such a simple question to ask, but are you really ready for the answers?" Dean nodded and Ari grew serious. "I watched you grow distant, Dean, after Sam left, after we summoned Raphael and talked to him. Never once did you pick up the phone and check on your little brother. He was writhing in self-loathing, in his self-imposed penance, and you did nothing. You never gave him a second chance. You never apologized to him, never worked with him on re-building the trust. Both Winchesters to the core, you both refused to see that you needed one another, that you both were the ying to the other's yang; one half of the puzzle was missing, and you guys knew it, and did nothing. Yes, he set my brother free. Big whuppa-de-do. Would've happened sooner or later. It was just fate that it was Sam. My father and brothers would tell you that is was his destiny, but I spit on destiny. But then, you never really wondered about how he got started with the powers, with the blood, did you? You always thought it was rebellion against everything that your father taught you guys. But it wasn't. He wanted some good to come out of Azazel's curse for him. He wanted to show you that he was turning even the evil inside of him into some good. Albeit, he went around it the entirely wrong way.

"I couldn't take it anymore, Dean. I was the one who kept asking you to call Sam, to check up on him. You pushed me away, Dean, told me to stop bothering you with the affairs of Sam. You were so focused on finding the Colt, on killing Lucifer before he took over the world. You became like your father: tunnel-visioned, not wanting help, not wanting to endanger Sammy or me. So, I left." She looked at him, her hazel eyes boring into him. "I don't think that you even noticed that I was gone until you heard about the battle in Detroit, about how I begged with Sam to help end the hurt, the pain of being associated with you, of being your discards." She cocked her head at him, trying to look through him and not at him. "Dean, what else can I say, except that this is all your fault?"

* * *

They cut the ropes to her legs and let her walk in front of the group of five as she led them through the ruined streets of Jackson City to the old abandoned sanatorium. Dean kept his eyes on her as she stumbled in her bare feet, as his future self pushed her forward like a relentless task master. Was this all his fault?

It was when they stopped at the front entrance, when 2014 Dean lied to the group about it being a cake-walk to get to Lucifer on the second floor, that something didn't begin to add up. Keeping an eye on Ari, 2009 Dean confronted his counterpart. "What the hell's going on? I want in on it."

2014 Dean took a quick look of his group before pulling 2009 Dean closer to the treeline. "I brought you here so that you could see our brother." He took a sigh, rubbing his hand on his face. "Sam didn't die in Detroit. He said yes." It took a while for the information to filter through, to become understandable. "Yeah, Lucifer's wearing him to the prom now."

"So, what? You're gonna kill him? Our brother?" 2009 Dean couldn't believe it.

"Well, I've got no other choice. Dean, promise me. When you return to your time, say yes to Michael." 2009 Dean tried to retort. "It's too late for me. I've tried until I turned blue in the face; I've screamed 'yes' to the heavens, but the angels aren't listening anymore. But you can still change this!"

2014 Dean took a step back before shaking his head. "But you won't, because that's not we work." Then it was blackness.

* * *

Dean woke up with a splitting headache to the sounds of gun shots in the second floor. He was left behind, and the others were walking into a trap. But, wait... what about Ari? He shook his head as he ran behind the building to see the shock of his life.

Ari stood over his 2014 version, smirking as a guy in a white suit had his heel to 2014 Dean's throat, efficiently snapping his neck in two and killing him. Ari's collar was snapped off, in pieces on the ground; the marks on her neck were visible from the red chafing from the metal. The man in the suit turned around and stared at Dean. _Sam?_ But no, it wasn't Sam, not anymore. This was Lucifer.

"Oh. Hello, Dean." Ari stood beside her brother, smiling as Dean wrestled with coming to terms about seeing Sam like this. "Aren't you a surprise." Thunder filled the air for a moment as the two foes sized each other up. "You've come a long way to see this, haven't you?"

Dean had had enough. "Just kill me. Go ahead; get it over with."

Lucifer seemed nonplussed for a moment. "Kill you? Don't you think that would be a little..." he looked down to the corpse of the future Dean, "redundant?" He sighed for a moment as Ari bit back a chuckle. "I'm sorry. It must be painful... speaking to me in this shape. But, it had to be your brother. It had to be." He made to place a hand on Dean's shoulder, but the mortal took a step back. Lucifer sighed again and removed the offending hand. "You don't have to be afraid of me, Dean. What you do think I'm going to do?" He turned his back on Dean, walking towards the roses and admiring them.

"I don't know. Maybe deep-fry the planet?" Anger filled the air, but Lucifer just turned around with a question on his face and in his voice.

"Why? Why would I want to destroy this stunning thing? So beautiful... in a trillion different ways. This, the last perfect handiwork of God?" Lucifer took his sister in his arm as she hugged him, looking at Dean the whole time. "This, where we angels once roamed free and called home?" Ari backed off, the Swords of Lucifer and Michael in her hands as she stood ready to defend her brother if necessary. "Did you ever hear the story of how I fell from Grace?"

Dean shook his head, his face a display of utter disgust. "Oh, good God, you're not gonna tell me a bedtime story, are you? My stomach's almost out of bile."

Lucifer just ignored that last comment, looking straight at Dean. Ari had her head cocked to one side, looking at them both through the corner of her eye. "You know why God cast me down? Because I loved him... more than anything, I loved him as my father. Then God created..." It was clear that the subject was touchy to the fallen angel, as his teeth began to grind and his jaw clench, but that was all the reaction that he showed, "you. The little... hairless apes. And he asked all of us to bow down before you: to love _you_, more than him. And I said, 'Father, I can't. These human beings are flawed, murderous.' And for that, God had Michael cast me into Hell, made Phanuel lock me away behind the sixty-six seals. Now tell me, does the punishment fit the crime?" Lucifer's face became dark for a moment as Ari toyed with the pommel of Michael's sword. "Especially when I was right? I mean, look at what six billion of you have done to this thing, and how many of you blame me for it?"

Dean just stared at the two fallen angels: one who fell because of his arrogance, and one who fell because she had no other options left. They were just the same things that he had been hunting his entire lives. The only difference was the size of their egos. When he told Lucifer that, he just laughed. Ari came closer, putting the swords away. She looked him over, shaking her head slowly the entire time. "Dean, you know that nothing on your current path of action will alter this course. You won't say yes to Michael, and you won't hurt Sam, so we win. Every time, we win."

Lucifer came up behind his sister, putting a hand on her shoulder. "See you in five years, Dean." And he was left alone.

* * *

Dean awoke from the nightmare with Zachariah standing beside him. Ariel was unconscious on the floor, her hands bounds behind her and a growing bruise over her eye. "Enough, Dean. Just say yes." Dean looked over the dick that sent him on this in the first place. "Say yes, and we can protect Sam before Lucifer strikes."

Dean would never say yes, and he wasn't about to start now. Just as Zach walked closer to him, a bright light filled the room, taking both Dean and Ari with it. As once as the zapping was done, he was standing by a kneeling Castiel who held Ari in his arms as he revived his mate. He knew that he needed to call Sam, that they needed to get back together.

The next day, Sam and him reunited. Ari leaned against the Impala, watching the two brothers forgive each other, watch them begin to heal. She looked up to the heavens, and she could have swore that the world seemed that much lighter, that much freer, now that the Winchesters were back together. The three of them had a job to do, and by God above, they would complete it.


	16. Abandon All Hope

**All mentions of Tiesen, Gaelen, Chale, and Rika belong to the wonderful mind of silver ruffian.**

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* * *

**Dean and Sam Winchester, back at it once more. Somehow, after Dean returned from his little escapade into the future, he finally got why Sam had done what he had done. At least, that's what he kept telling himself. Ari kept looking at him like he was nuts, like he was off on another tangent. But they got back to work. Dean never told her what he saw in regards to her on his little trip through the time-space continuum. Somehow, he thought that she didn't want to know.

Demons, symbols... every day melded into another. They fought witches, demons, insane demi-gods. She learned from the best, now that she finally understood her purpose. Michael didn't care about her anymore. He gave her this duty to make sure that Sam stayed on track and away from Lucifer, and that Dean would somehow choose the 'right' path and become his vessel. She was simply a middle man, the go between for the Winchesters and the Host.

Castiel was still around, but he despised her for keeping Afriel around inside of her. Sometimes, the rage that Afriel felt on her behalf, the anger at everyone for betraying her and casting her out, was all that kept her sane when he was around. He made it clear to her that their relationship was on hiatus until Afriel left the picture permanently. For Ari, that was okay. She had considered their relationship over since her Fall.

Out of all of their adventures over the next few months, the most painful one for Ari was when the entity known as the Trickster came around and sent the brothers and her into TV-land. She recognized him immediately for what he truly was, but she let the brothers figure it out on their own. Her long-lost brother Gabriel was toying with her. Tears wanted to come down her face, but her anger at him overrode that. She was truly filled with the wrath of God when she tore him a new one for abandoning her like that. Out of all of her brothers, after Michael and Lucifer, she was closest to Gabriel. When he just up and left the Citadal like that, it tore a hole in her that never healed. When she left with the brothers, her heart was locked away once more as Gabriel stood there in the abandoned warehouse where they had trapped him.

Their most recent adventure took them to a Supernatural convention for avid fans. Ari simply rolled her eyes and headed over to the bar. She wasn't part of their universe. Hell, humans weren't supposed to know that angels even existed. Sure, they prayed to them for guidance, for help, even for mercy, but they were none of that. They were simply soldiers that did whatever their Father told them to do. What was the point of protecting this place? Human kind had sent this world to pot long before now. This place used to be beautiful, but why was it so hard for humans to understand that?

Demons, humans... none of it mattered. She sipped her way through half a bottle of whiskey, trying to blend in with the crowd as the fans masqueraded around as hunters trying to solve a case. What a joke. Personally, she was insulted by the way that the Winchester Gospel was ridiculed like this. But when this hunt turned out to be real, she stayed with the prophet and protected the innocents, just like her father would have wanted her to do. Personally, she would have loved to throw them to the dogs, let the humans rot.

Well, a good thing came out of the stupid convention. They had found the location of the Colt. This was the only thing that could kill Lucifer, or so the humans thought. Ari couldn't stand the thought of killing her brother, even if he was fallen. But then, so was she. She might still be connected to Heaven by way of Michael, might be on this Earth for a purpose, but she was fallen nonetheless when she disobeyed Zachariah/Phanuel. The warrior's brand on her arm meant nothing in the long run.

Ari stayed with Bobby while they tracked down the Colt from a demon, Lilith's right hand man. Dean, Sam, and another hunter by the name of Jo Harvelle got it. Amazingly, even some of the demons were scared of Lucifer; at least, this Crowley one was. He had guessed the final plan. Lucifer didn't care who won. He just wanted everything to go back: he wanted the angels to rule again, with him in charge. The final showdown was to take place in Carthage, Missouri.

Afri filled her in on the importance of the place, but Ari didn't share it with the boys. It was where Gaelen's body was buried. Gaelen... the Horseman of Death. One of the four entities in Hell or Heaven that actually gave a damn about her, as both a fallen angel and as a demon. He and his brothers convinced Alastair, once she was fully converted, into sharing her with them. In turn, they talked with her, trying to give her something to hold on in Hell besides the next soul to torture. Afri might have laughed the first couple of times, but Gaelen, Tiesen, Rika, and Chale actually liked simply talking, not fighting or maiming. Sure, that was their job, but there were other things in life besides the next kill.

In order for Gaelen to resurrect, someone has to sacrifice quite a few human souls on the night of the new moon while speaking the ritual words. It was quite a potent spell; only someone of massive power could perform it and not die in the process. She and Lucifer were two of a very few candidates.

Well, Ari looked at the news around Carthage, and it turned out that half the town was missing and presumed dead, all with in the last two weeks. If that wasn't a big enough calling card, then Lucifer really needed to work on his subtlety. Her mind began to wander as she thought of her brothers before she lit up a cigarette. A new vice, but it helped her to make her heart hurt less. God, she'd been played from the start. Maybe she was on the wrong side.

A racket from the kitchen told her that the brothers were back. Well... time to start hunting again. Castiel, on the other hand, had a different strategy. Let the humans get ready tonight, have a little fun. Tomorrow, they would worry about killing the Devil. Either way, it was a plan. Her eyes flashed black as she entered the kitchen and ditched the smoke.

Ellen immediately pointed a gun in her face at the sight of the black eyes. "Jesus, Ellen!" She knocked the gun aside as Dean, Sam, and Bobby came in to see what was going on. "Knock it off! It's me!"

"Damn right! What's with the black eyes, Ari?" At that, Ari rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Really?" She fingered one of the empty shell casings on the table between them. "You don't know?" Dean tried to tell her not to say anything, but she didn't give a rat's ass anymore. "Oh, you're not in the loop. Well, I'm Afriel, your darling angel's other half." She lit up the smoke again. "You know, comes from being in Hell for over a thousand years." Ellen and Jo's faces went white. "That's right! I forgot. Yeah, no... I just torture souls that betray me, right Cas?" Afri cocked her head as Ari emerged again.

"Forgive her, she's on edge tonight. So am I." She looked to Sam and Bobby, avoiding Dean's crestfallen gaze. "It's not every night that you're charged with protecting a human that wants to kill your oldest brother." She scoffed amidst the smoke. "Excuse me." She walked past the hunters and angel without even a look behind, walking out back to the junkyard. She could hear Ellen's voice raised and yelling at the boys, Dean trying to explain. She didn't care.

_You know,_ Afriel spoke in her head. _You can make your own choices. Michael doesn't care anymore, does he?_

"No. He doesn't." Ari chuckled a bit. "He hasn't even checked up on me since Lucifer rose from the seals."

_So why the hesitation, Ariel? Why are you still confused?_ Afri sounded honestly concerned.

"What do you care?"

_I care because I'm a part of you. I hate it when you beat yourself up like this. It disturbs me. What more do you want?_

"Brothers that care, for start. The Horsemen are awesome, but they're just friends, brothers-in-arms. I'm talking about my blood brothers, the angels that used to care about each other. Now Michael just wants to see Lucifer dead, not sealed away. And Lucifer, he just wants to see the world burn. I don't know anymore, Afri. What other side could I be on? Heaven or Hell... what a choice. Why is there no middle ground?"

_There is, Ari. You just have to find it first._ Afri sighed for a moment. _You like the Horsemen, don't you? You understand their purposes._

"Yeah."

_Well, ask one of them. You heard Tiesen back in River Pass. The five of us are keepers of the balance. You have to find a way to keep the balance between your brothers. Between the Light and the Dark. Even if that means fighting on a side that doesn't belong to either of them._

"What possible side could that be?"

Afri was getting frustrated now. _You dunce! What have you and I been talking about for the last few minutes? Who is neutral in the Apocalypse? Who doesn't answer to Heaven or Hell?_

She finally got it. "You know, Afriel, I don't what I'd do without you some days."

_Well, moron, I'm not leaving any time soon. You made sure of that._ A few days after the summoning of Raphael, Ari removed the pentacle tattoo from her shoulder and replaced it with a binding lock. She didn't want her dark mirror leaving. _Besides, even if they did find out, I'd kill them for you._

Ari took out the Sword of Lucifer in one hand, and summoned Michael's sword in her other hand. She had learned that trick soon after her Fall; Michael should have learned to keep better track of his belongings, but that didn't matter now. It was the symbolism in her hands that was the matter of import right now. Two brothers, two swords. Both were hers, now. The choice was hers. It was always hers.

**

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**

The next day, they all piled into the two cars and headed out to Missouri. Dean saw that Ari was quiet, not speaking a word. She just fiddled with the hilts of the swords that she carried around with her. Man, what had happened to her? Was something going on with her and Afriel? Was she going to snap and become a liability to him?

"Dean, you're hurting my head. Learn to shield your thoughts, would you?" She rubbed her temple as they all stopped and got out of the car. "We'll be fine." She began to look around, like she was seeing something they weren't. In that case, it was true. Invisible to the human's eyes were hundreds of Reapers. Hundreds. All of them standing, waiting. Waiting for Gaelen to arise. There hadn't been a gathering like this since before she was released from Hell. If it happened during her incarceration, she had no way of knowing.

She heard the 'click-click' of high heeled boots walking towards them. "There you are!" In an instant, both her swords were ready and her eyes blazed black as she looked on the minor demon in front of her. From what Dean had revealed through his unguarded mind, this was Meg, an old foe of theirs. "Shouldn't have come here, boys." She tossed a look at Afriel and laughed; it sounded quite forced, like it was the worst thing possible. "So, fulcrum, what side's it gonna be?" Dean, Sam, and the Harvelles looked at Afri with confusion, but their weapons were trained on the demon in front of them.

"I will choose the side that is neutral to both." Without warning, she sheathed both swords and light-zapped out of there, using the remnants of her strength. She left Dean and Sam be; they had their own battles to fight.

She zoomed out into the woods of Jasper's Farm, where she felt the Horsemen coming together. She was so weak; that zap cost her dearly, but she refused to fall to the ground. She just wiped the blood away and looked around. "So, Afriel, you finally decided to join us." A voice came from behind her; just a basic demon. Before she could make a move, someone else spoke up for her.

"Unfortunately, they have a prior engagement with us." A sword slice through the air, and the demon was dead. She turned around, Ariel back in place, as she looked to the three men standing behind her dressed in black jeans and white t-shirts underneath black dusters. Tiesen was the one that held the bloody sword in his hands. "Well, well, Ari. It took you long enough." Moving in front of his brothers, he took her in his arms. "Welcome back."

"Thank you, brother." He leaned back and smiled. He had shed the guise of the River Pass business, showing his true form as the Horseman of War. Albeit dressed normally, his long white hair was braided down to his back. His golden-yellow eyes looked at her with gratitude. Instead of the slightly rotund shape of the businessman, Tiesen's body was wiry, lithe. He was the underdog in looks, but equal to the others in power.

"Chale." The Horseman of Pestilence walked forward and messed her hair with a brotherly smile on his face. Like his brother, he too was dressed normally, but his tanned complexion suited the golden-yellow eyes better. His shorn black hair suited him. After all, there was nothing that could stop him, just like there was nothing that could be done to stop a fear of a pestilence, especially one from the Dark Ages.

"Ari!" Rika was the cheeriest of them all, as well as the youngest. He had a hawkish look to his mulatto features, but the golden-yellow eyes stared out in nothing but joy that their missing sister-in-arms had returned to them. The Horseman of Famine had a wicked sense of humor.

"So, did Afri send you here, or did you come of your own free will?" Chale leaned against the tree, looking out into the clearing where the ritual to unleash the last of them was getting ready.

"I came here because now neither brother can use me against the other." All three of them nodded their heads. "Afri, though, wishes me to tell you guys that she thinks I'm a moron for not figuring it out earlier." At that, they all just laughed. "So, what's the plan?" All four of them looked out to the field where Gaelen's body was interred. Only a few more hours until midnight, then he would be free. At least, that was the goal if Lucifer got his way.

"We wait. Nothing more. Once Gaelen is released, we will become at our full power." She followed them as they walked to their cars. The four muscle cars were parked outside of a dilapidated barn, but they shone like new. "When that happens, then we can begin the Apocalypse." Chale leaned against the silver-grey Cougar. "But first, do you got a ride? We saw that little transpo earlier, and you can't be weak every time you travel with us."

Tiesen slapped his head. "Get a grip, brother. She'll ride with me." He grinned as she looked over the fire-red Mustang and grinned. "Right, Ari?"

Rika just rolled his eyes as he slid into the buttery leather seat of his midnight-black Camaro. "Your choice, Ari. Of course, you can always ride with Gaelen." He pointed over his shoulder to the white Barracuda. On its side was detailing work of a ghostly horseman. A little ostentatious for her taste, but hey, to each their own. At least they weren't riding horses. That would get them no respect in this day and age.

"I'll stick with you, Tiesen. But I'll drive Gaelen's car to his burial site for just tonight." That earned her a kiss on the forehead. The Ariel of before would have cringed at the thought of even being near three of the five most powerful supernatural entities in history. She would have hid Afri away, thought herself a freak. But now, after spending so much time with the humans, she was relaxed, enjoying herself. Afri was as much as part of her as Michael was. There was no shame in that, for everything had its place and its importance. Her importance to Michael was nothing compared to the joy she felt with her friends.

As she took off her jacket and stretched under the moonlight, she heard the soft laughter come to an abrupt end as she stepped into the moonlight. She didn't need to ask why they had stopped: she knew perfectly well. Chale stepped forward and peered at the brand on her arm. "A warrior of God, Ariel?" He addressed her by her full name. Oh, shit...

She shook her head. "It was simply a way for my brother to get me out of my ill-deserved punishment. Phanuel was pissed at me, now he can't touch me." They all looked at her and she nodded, taking off her shirt and crossing her arms in front of her breasts. They got a good lock at the scars, the brands. Chale was furious; all the plants around him began to die and the air grew musty. She covered myself right quick and shoved out her hands, letting them see all of the times that her fingers were broken and re-set. The air grew black as midnight approached. "My job was to protect the Winchester brothers, to make sure that Dean took his rightful place as Michael's vessel. My brother banished me from Heaven; I'm not a angel anymore, even if I still have my Grace. I will never be one of those bastards again, not of my choice at least." The anger in her voice caused all of them to take a step back. This most certainly wasn't the Ariel that they remembered. But frankly, they were all glad for it.

"Well, now you have your chance with us." Tiesen clapped her shoulder with his broad hand. She took out her swords and laid them on her shoulders so that they crossed behind her neck. Now, it was back to the waiting.

* * *

Finally, the Witching Hour drew near. There was maybe fifteen minutes until midnight. The three Horsemen and Ari watched by the edge of the forest. Their cars were waiting for them; Ari drove Gaelen's Barracuda next to Rika's Camaro and turned it off to avoid alerting the others. All four of them had swords at the ready, waiting for the end of the ritual to come. Just then, the Winchesters barged onto the scene.

This was the first time that she had seen Lu's new skin. Frankly, the guy was really quite plain. Perfect for Lucifer to slip among the mortals undetected. For all that he preached angelic superiority, he definitely agreed that humans had their uses. However, the vessel was beginning to die. Even from where she was in the trees, she could see the burns on his vessel's face where Lucifer was just becoming too much for the poor guy. Oh well... sacrifices were a necessity when in war.

Ari bit her lip as she watched Dean take a shot at Lucifer with the Colt, blowing a clean little hole into the side of his head. Tiesen chuckled lowly. Boy, that was entertaining; it was especially joyful to see their brothers' faces as Lucifer got back up off the ground. He placed his hand against his head and glared at Dean. "Where did you get that?" He shoved Dean into a tree and turned back to Sam. "Now, where were we?" He grinned a bit and leaned on the shovel in his hands as his head healed up within seconds. "Don't feel too bad, Sam. There's only five things in all of the creation that that gun can't kill, and I just happen to be one of them. But if you give me a minute," he turned back to digging, "I'm almost done." He shoved in two scoops of dirt before leaning on the shovel again. "You know, I don't suppose you'd just say 'yes' here and now? End this whole tiresome discussion? That's crazy, right?"

Sam stood up when he ascertained that Dean was still alive. "It's never gonna happen!" His fists began to curl up; Ari could see the anger just rippling off him.

"Oh, I don't know, Sam. I think it will." Lucifer returned to his digging. "I think it'll happen soon: within six months. And I think it'll happen... in Detroit." Lucifer seemed all smug.

But Sam wasn't buying it. "You listen to me, you son of a bitch. I'm gonna kill you myself, you understand me? I'm going to rip your heart out!" Ari was surprised that he didn't just demon up right now and take him out.

Lucifer, however, was still happy. "That's good, Sam. You keeping fanning that fire in your belly. All that pent-up rage. I'm gonna need it." Sam took a few deep breaths, forced himself to calm down. Ari turned to the Horsemen, who nodded their heads. Show time. As one, they emerged from the forest and walked up to the edge of the pit, past Sam and Dean, past Lucifer.

"Ariel?" Lucifer was confused at this point. "Baby sister? What are you doing here?" He saw his sword in her hand, but her face was calm as she completely ignored him. Each of the Horseman and her took a side, began chanting in Old Enochian. She turned to the congregated demons there. They all turned their black-eyed gaze to her as she let Afriel loose.

"Repeat after me. We offer up our lives, blood, souls to complete this tribute." As one, every single of the demons spoke the words, killing them instantly. She turned to Lucifer, that look of shock still on his face. "Thanks, big brother, for doing this for me. Now, excuse me. I'll take it from here." She took a grip on his shirt and threw him across the pit to land on the other side. As midnight struck, the ground trembled and opened. Ari smiled as she and her brothers-in-arms walked forward to the front of the pit, heedless of the bodies that had dropped like flies.

A man walked out of the pit. An African-American cock-diesel giant stood before them all. His shaved head shone in the moonlight as his black-brown eyes opened before normalizing into golden-brown. He cracked his neck, moaning softly as he stretched out his long-stiff form. As he did so, he donned the same clothes as the others.

"Welcome back, Gaelen." He turned his head down to the ground, walking out of the pit slowly. He peered at her for a moment.

"Afriel?" His voice was deep, deeper than any bass of the heavenly choirs. He looked around, taking in the open field and the brothers standing by the edge.

"No, brother. Ariel is back, but she and I are one." She could only just imagine the look on the Winchesters' faces as Gaelen wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. "We both want to take you up on your earlier offer." Before she was released from Hell, Gaelen and his brothers extended her the offer to join them, but before she could've answered, she was hauled out of there.

"Ari?" Dean finally spoke up; she felt Castiel come onto the field now. "What are you doing?"

She looked over at Dean, nothing on her face as Gaelen let her go. It must have been quite a sight, her standing with the Horsemen like that, but she was fine with that. "Dean, I'm choosing a side." She looked at Castiel and scoffed. "A side that I know I can count on." With that, all five of them walked past them, jumped into the cars and zapped out of there.

Castiel looked forlorn as she walked past him without a second glance. For all that he hated Afriel, Ariel was still his mate. Sam shook his head and Dean looked up to the heavens. What had she unleashed?


	17. My Bloody Valentine

**All mentions of Tiesen, Gaelen, Chale, and Rika belong to the wonderful mind of silver ruffian and the story "The Black Horse and the Cherry Tree".**

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**

The Winchester brothers had heard neither hide nor hair of Ari since Carthage, and that was almost two months ago. Hadn't seen her; hadn't spoken to her. Bobby had his feelers out for her, but there was literally no word of her, let alone any of the other Horsemen. For Sam, he was still wondering why Ariel could join the side of the demons. I mean, weren't the Horsemen under Lucifer's purview? Why, after all the demon hunting, would she join their side?

For Dean, the betrayal was far deeper. His mind kept going back to the vision of 2014: Ari chained up in his alter-reality's basement, laughing as she told them that she was in league with the Horsemen now. It was slowly coming true, all of it. It was just like what Michael had said when he came back for their little heart-to-heart: free will is an illusion. But when he said that, Michael lied. Apparently, he thought Ari was just going to follow his orders, follow God's orders, like the good little soldier that she used to be. Carthage had changed all that. She was the catalyst to something big.

Michael said, back when Anna was executed for trying to kill his parents, that eventually he and Sam will say yes, that Lucifer and Michael will enter their bodies and they will fight. It was so, because it was their destiny. It had been laid out to happen like this since before the Fall of Lucifer. However, the two angelic brothers both had different reasons for it. Michael was following God's orders, while Lucifer wanted revenge for being cast aside for so long. God, the parallels between their lives was unmistakable. It was like looking in the mirror.

Well, their latest news was taking them to another little town in Massachusetts: people were dying in rapid numbers. Sounds like their kind of gig...

* * *

_Three weeks earlier..._

Ari, Chale, Gaelen, Rika, and Tiesen were lounging around in a bar, tossing back drinks and having a good laugh. Soon, it would be Rika's turn to wreck havoc before the final showdown. Man, this was going to be a blast!

"Ari, no using your angelic powers!" Gaelen hip-checked her as she attempted another shot on the pool table. She was wiping the floor with him and Tiesen, but what else could you expect from a student of Dean Winchester? Besides, the whole having a eidetic angelic memory was awesome sometimes.

"It's not powers, Gaelen. It's physics and math." She worked the angle and won the game. "Dean taught me well." At the mention of her former charge, she grew a little morose and ordered another drink. Lucky for them, Horsemen metabolisms were fast; liquor didn't affect her as much as Dean or Sam. Still, after the five drinks that night, the dizziness wasn't yet starting to take affect.

"I think you've have enough, Ari." Chale took the beer from her hands and gave it back to the barkeep. "You know, it's better to talk about it then to drink it away. Trust me."

She sighed. "You know, Chale, you can be a real dick at times." She ran her hands through her now earlobe length hair before rubbing her hands on her black jeans. "I don't know, bro. I think, sometimes, I wonder if I chose right. I mean, I liked Dean and Sam. It was fun sometimes with them, but I wanted the choice. Not the order from Michael." Her fist pounded the bar, annoying the bartender and drawing some glances from some of the other patrons. "I don't want to choose between two brothers anymore. I guess I'm between a rock and a hard place right now."

"Then don't." Tiesen walked over to them, placing his disfigured hand on her shoulder. "That's why you came to us, right?"

She grinned a bit. "Yeah." She turned around and nodded, letting go of the transient worry. "So, Rika... your turn, right?" He grinned.

"Yeah! And what better day to do it then on Valentine's Day?" All five of them laughed as they exited the bar, leaving the keep with a substantial tip. Rika, since he was Famine, was coming into his full capabilites. He had the ability to make people's deepest desires become their only hunger, be it food, drink, or sex, whatever they desired. Anything that they truly hungered for became their sole purpose, their sole desire to live. They would die happy, because they sated their greatest hunger. At this time, Rika needed human souls to nourish himself. It would only last for about three weeks, and then he would be sated enough to last until the final showdown.

"Perfect time for indulgence, eh?" Chale and Rika grinned, slapping high fives as they jumped into the cars. Before Gaelen could turn his engine on, six demons showed up. Ari drew her swords and twirled them in her hands. Tiesen held her in place.

"Well, well, well... what does Lucy want now?" Gaelen got up from his seat and stood before the demons with his massive arms crossed over his chest.

"Our father wishes us to accompany the Horseman of Famine, to be his protection while he hungers." The leader- from their combined mind, she knew that his name used to be Tyler before he descended the ranks of Hell- took a look at her. "Madam Afriel. Lucifer wasn't aware that you were accompanying the Horsemen." Afri jumped out of the car and stood at Gaelen's side. The demons bowed to her, some even going as far as prostrating. She was Hell's princess with Lucifer as King. She was bloody royalty on both sides of the war.

"Tell my brother than your protection is necessary, only so far as two of you are needed once the Winchesters arrive. The rest can meet us at this location and can have free reign among the humans there." The look the demons gave her was akin to an early Christmas present. "Now, the rest of you, be gone." She snapped her fingers and all of them left. Shrugging the tension out of her shoulder, she turned back to the Horsemen and grinned. "Let's blow this joint!" Gaelen kissed the top of her head before sliding into his Barracuda, revving his engine a couple of times. The Horsemen were on the prowl...

They sauntered into Ipswich two days later, renting an old home where they could all convene and Rika could stay hidden to gain his strength. Tiesen was most looking forward to meeting up with the brothers once more, as he massaged the stump where his ring finger used to be. They all sighed. The Winchesters thought the rings were their power source? Please... give them a little more credit. It was a temporary thing, a little charm to make the people think that they were truly going mad. Every Horseman had one; even Ari had one now. According to Gaelan and in agreement with his brothers, she was now the Horseman of Change; it was truly the one thing people feared more than death.

Earning that title was a huge accomplishment for her. Gaelen was the one to walk her through the ritual not even a week after Carthage. She and Afri had to combine souls, becoming one in the most literal sense. She barely remembered it; amidst a pretty thick cloud of incense, she saw a lot of symbols, hear a few Latin and Sumerian incantations, and blood. She had the scar running down her palms from when Chale and Tiesen took both her knives to them. Afterwards, she was really sick, extraordinarily tired. Chale sat by her bed, lending her some of his power to help her heal. That was about a month ago. Now, she was completely healed, sans the scars. She had the ability to turn her eyes black when she wanted to speak as Afri, or she could make her eyes normal. Over time, they would change into the golden of the Horsemen. She didn't have a car yet, so she rode with Tiesen. But the rings... those were simply a conduit for power, not the power themselves. Besides, rings were easily reforged.

Rika was already losing strength as she laid him out on one of the beds. He would begin needing souls soon. She summoned two of the demons from earlier and gave them one instruction: "Harvest the souls of the recently dead." Because his powers were out of whack, Rika would infect mortals around him all throughout the town with no problem. Also, the other demons would be aiding the process along, killing off mortals and taking their souls and tribute. Soon, they would be dropping like flies, and Rika would be stronger than ever.

* * *

_Present time..._

Dean and Sam were so confused until Castiel came around. If Cupid wasn't killing people, then who was? It was bad enough listening to how their parents had been shot by Cupid's arrows- literally- and that this destiny of theirs was really beginning to suck. Then Sam brought back this briefcase and the massive white light that burst out from it when it was opened had to be something Cas knew about.

When Castiel came around, eating hamburgers, and told them that Famine was here, Dean's first thought went to Ariel. Was she still with them? "Well, can you track Ari, Cas?" Sam looked funnily at him, but Cas understood. He turned to Sam and explained. "She was last seen with the Horsemen. Maybe she's still with them."

Cas did the same spell that he used to find Anna, but the spell gave no results. Dean looked at Cas before saying, "Why didn't it work?"

Cas stood up. "She's not an angel anymore, Dean. That is the only explanation." His voice grew sorrowful. "Her inner demon must have taken control of her."

Suddenly, Sam stood up and ran to the window. "Guys, that same demon from before!" He felt his insides clench and his mind scream for the demon blood. "You guys have to follow it. Lock me up here, tight. Go after it." Dean handcuffed him to the sink, and Cas shoved the bookcase in place. They hopped in the Impala and tailed the demon. It led them to a small house in the outskirts of town; four beautiful muscle cars waited out front. Cas stayed behind, his craving for hamburgers becoming insatiable, leaving Dean to handle this one on his own.

Strangely enough, he wasn't affected by the demon spell. Why wasn't he craving anything? Was it because he was a creature of pleasure, well-fed from hedonism? Or was it something else? Maybe Famine had an answer for that.

But it was the sight before him that shocked him as he peered through a slight crack in the door. Ari was sitting by a bed, her head lowered and her eyes closed. She was holding the hand of an elderly man as the demon opened up the briefcase and let loose the soul inside. The man on the bed absorbed it up, his eyes growing wide for a moment before a small grin on his face made him seem non-threatening. Three other men, all of different nationalities and builds, were waiting by the window; all of them had golden eyes. Instantly, Dean was reminded of Azazel and his yellow eyes.

"Dean. You can come out now." Ari spoke up before the door opened wide and he was pulled into the room. He recognized War from River Pass, but he was different now. Ari stood up from her vigil and placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling the Horseman back. "Tiesen, revenge later." She waited until he was calmer and backed away. "So Dean, I'm surprised it took you this long to find us."

He took a moment and really looked at her. The noticeable difference was her eyes. Still the hazel brown that he knew, they now had rings of gold around the irises. Her hair wasn't long anymore, but cut to the ends of her ears and slightly curlier. She was dressed in the same get-up as the others: black jeans, white shirt, black duster. But somehow, it suited her.

"Yeah, well. Tracking Horsemen ain't all that easy." His hand fiddled with the knife in his pocket.

"Dean, that's won't kill me. Not anymore." Pushing him against the wall, she pulled the knife out of his pocket and lodged it in the wall level with his face. By now, the demon he had been tracking was gone.

"What, are you one of them now, Ari?" His tone sounded quite accusatory. But that didn't faze her.

"Yes, I am." She let him go and walked back to her vigil. The big black guy walked forward and almost growled at Dean, but he resisted snapping back at her. Dean looked from War, to the black guy, to the mulatto on the bed, to the tanned one by the window, and then back to Ari.

"Why?" She didn't look away from Rika as he slowly reached his capacity. "Why did you join the bad guys, Ari? You know, being an angel and all."

She chuckled once, reading the thoughts that he was projecting unknowingly. He thought that the Horsemen were demons? Working for Lucifer? Yeah, right. "Dean, I haven't been an angel since Michael last saw me. That would be... a little after Lucifer was set free. Afri will always be a part of me, whether it disgusts you or not; but now, she and I are truly one entity. Dean, I'm the enigma, remember?" She prodded his mind to bring back the memory of River Pass, to the angelic genealogy. "I'm the only being on Earth that doesn't have a destiny."

Dean shook his head. "But, Michael-"

"Michael doesn't know. Only God did, and me. I would never tell my brothers that." She looked to the Horseman panting and moaning on the bed. "It would hurt them too much." She looked back at Dean. "Hell, I only found out when I was released from Hell, and I was sent to do my stint here right after I found out." She shook her head, patting the Horseman's hand. "I don't want to choose anymore between my brothers, Dean. Why should I? Besides, what made you believe that the Horsemen were evil?"

"Cas..." Dean's eyebrows furrowed. Ari cut the air with her hand, silencing him.

"Don't mention that sack of shit within my hearing again, Dean Nathan Winchester. He made his choice, and it never included me. He wants God, wants my dear old Father to come and make all of this better. Anything that isn't of Heaven or Earth is automatically evil in his eyes. What, did he tell you that Afriel had taken me over when that tracking spell didn't work?" Dean's eyebrows grew wide, and she chuckled. "I have eyes everywhere, Dean. It didn't work because I'm not an angel, not anymore. Nor am I a demon, so don't bother to ask me that either."

The big black man came forward and sat on the opposite side of the bed, moving the sweaty hair from his brother's face as he arched his back and moaned for a moment. "Peace, brother. It's almost over."

Then it clicked for Dean. "You're behind the deaths?" Ari nodded, not denying a thing. "Why?"

"Because my brother needed them. That last soul, Dean, was the last one he needed. Now he is ready for the showdown." That was when he took his chance. With a swift movement, he rushed to the bedside and cut off Famine's finger and got the ring. The creature on the bed groaned, but Ari stopped her brothers from rushing Dean in righteous fury.

She looked up at Dean, her eyes now fully gold and quite pissed. "Change is a bitch, ain't it, Dean? Something you can barely control, something that can change the name of the game in an instant." She smirked as she helped the ailing Horseman to sitting, covering his mutilated hand in a torn part of the bedsheet. "Well, this is a whole new ballgame now, bucko. And you've made the bitch pissed!" She snapped her fingers and all five of them disappeared. Dean ran outside, but the only car there was his own.

Castiel came out, no longer eating. "What happened, Dean?" He looked around. "Did you kill the Horsemen?"

He shook his head. Without a word, he got back in the car and headed back to the motel. Ari was right; this was a whole new ball game now.


	18. Long Overdue Conversation

Ari looked over to her brothers as they settled down for the night in a tavern in Chicago. The bartender had taken one look at the five of them with their golden eyes, took out a shotgun, and pointed to a sign near the door: "Neutral Ground". All of the Horsemen nodded their heads and took a table in the corner; this was a place for everyone to meet peacefully. The bartender even came over and made them show him all of their weapons, but only Ari was carrying. Without even a sigh, she unhooked the swords from her back and handed them over to the barkeep for safekeeping while they were in his building. Gaelen looked over the man and promised him that they would do nothing in this establishment to harm anyone, even if they were provoked first. With that, five plates of steak sandwiches and five bottles of ale came up onto the counter. The ale was delicious and the food amazing: one of the perks of having to eat once in a while now that she was spending all of her time on the earth plane was that she got to try out all these new foods and flavours. These steak sandwiches were some of the best that she had ever tasted.

"So, Gaelen, what's the plan?" She looked over to their leader as he pushed his food around his plate. The barkeep looked annoyed but he didn't say a word. Ari took a better look at him, putting her half-eaten sandwich down on the plate. "What's got you down, bro?"

"I'm pissed, Ari." He finally pushed the plate away from him and looked across at his family. "I don't know what to do next. We have no mission on this plane except to create chaos. When the final showdown comes around, we choose our side to use our powers for. Do we side with Heaven and that dick of an angel Michael, or do we side with Hell and the equally dick Lucifer?" He shook his head and ran his hand over his bald pate. "How do we choose, when both sides suck from the get go?"

She twisted the ring on her finger. She had earned it, this new Horseman of Change. A simple gold ring with the Hebrew word for 'five' inscribed on the band. "Why do we have to?" All four of them looked at her incredulously: Chale choked mid-sip on his ale. "Why do we have to choose a side? Why don't we be our own side? Work for neither, but work for both at the same time?" Rika looked over to her; she was certainly living up to her new title.

Gaelen, Rika, Chale, and Tiesen all paused as they paid their bills and walked back out to their cars. She had finally acquired her own vehicle: a storm-grey '67 Impala, a replica of Dean's car save for the color. She slid in and led the procession out of the tavern. They raced down the freeway to a motel and booked a room for them to crash; they would head back to Ipswich in a few days, and to their more permanent base of operations. None of them spoke the rest of the evening, but all of them thought about what Ari had suggested.

* * *

She didn't sleep that night; instead, she just sat back against the window and watched the night sky, the thunderstorms as they roared through the sky. She always loved the thunderstorms; Lucifer used to tell her when she was a child that thunder was God pacing in his library when something was wrong, and that lightening was him talking to his lieutenants. She knew better now, but even still, Lucifer and Michael always had her back until the Fall. Then everything went screwy.

"Ariel." She didn't turn at the sound of the voice, that very familiar voice. She just chuckled a few times as she felt him stand there.

"The mighty Michael, come down to visit his lowly younger sister." She cocked an eyebrow and turned to stand, her duster swirling around her feet as she leaned against the window sill. "What do you require of me now?" That was a joke, of course. Michael couldn't command squat from her and they both knew it. She, however, just wanted to be spiteful for a few moments.

"Why?" His voice was shot, hoarse. He looked so sorrowful that it was almost pitiful. Almost. He wasn't in a human vessel, but had created his own, like she used to be able to, for this quick family visit. He looked like he did when she saw him for the first time after her service was completed: golden-brown hair, hazel eyes that used to match her own, and a weary smile.

"Why what, older brother? You need be a tad more specific. I don't read angels' minds anymore." She grinned sinisterly. This was so much fun!

"Why this?" He motioned around at the room, at the sleeping Horsemen next door, at the two swords sitting against the wall next to her.

At that, she turned serious. "Oh, changed teams, then? That's more specific." She pushed herself off the sill and led him outside the room. She didn't want her brothers to wake up and try to defend her: this was something that she had to do on her own.

When they both were outside, she turned away and let the rain fall on her face. She needed to think of a succinct way to tell Michael everything that had happened to her since last they talked. "When I was in Hell, when I was slowly becoming Afriel, I was befriended by the Four Horsemen. They treated Afriel and me as the same person, because we were in a sense. War and Famine often had excellent debates for Afriel to engage in, keeping both of us human in a way. Death, even though he was imprisoned on a deeper level of Hell away from Lucifer, could still commune with me through his brothers. Even Pestilence wanted to talk to me, but sometimes he would just sit and watch as we would be tortured. Alastair left them alone; they are so much more powerful than he ever was. When Afriel emerged and began torturing, they still stuck around and kept me company. To hear them speak without screaming was, what I came to believe, what kept me sane during those thousand two hundred years.

"They watched out for me when I was abandoned by Heaven. When I was pulled out of the Pit, I never forgot about them even as I did your bidding. I missed our conversations. When you ordered me to guard the Winchesters, when you exiled me from the heavens for questioning and for daring to think, then I finally had enough of blindly following orders. What? You didn't think that I would catch on to your manipulations of me?" She shook her head at him when he tried to debate that. "I bided my time, performing the role of the dutiful younger sister; all the while, I questioned and I doubted everything about my life. The only things that made sense were the Horsemen, and how they took care of me as I rotted in Hell and how you did nothing.

"I didn't want a repeat of the last War. Remember that one," she turned back to him with hate in her unearthly golden eyes, walking in slow circles around him, "when you and Lucifer demanded that I choose a side? When I followed you because that was where Castiel and my Father were? That ripped me apart! Why would you even think to ask that of me: to choose between my two brothers, the ones that raised me with my father's hand? To ask me to choose between the one that taught me everything, and the one that always had my back? I broke that day, Michael. I was never the same. That look on Lucifer's face when I turned my back on him, my oldest brother and my mentor, that scarred my heart and those scars will never leave there. When Alastair fell, when he took me with him, that was the beginning of the end of everything.

She turned away from him. "Now that I'm out of both gigs, I'm gonna choose the ones that are not of Heaven or Hell, the ones that actually gave a shit about me. When I found War, Famine, and Pestilence back in Carthage, there were no questions, no demands, other than what had taken me so long? I was the one to release Death, not Lucifer! There are no contracts, no memorandums, no 'discipline' if I screwed up: there is only what we want to do and when we want to do it." She stopped and faced him. "Is that good enough a reason_, brother_?" She spat the word out like the poison it was.

Michael was silent for the longest time, just standing there in the rain. "But I loved you..."

She punched him in the jaw, knocking him to the ground. "Lucifer loved me, too! I never stopped loving both of you, because you're my blood. But you don't see me at his side! I don't care anymore about your little spat. Lucifer was upset, yes, because God chose a flawed race over us! Our Father ignored us while Adam and Eve roamed around the Garden. He fell because he couldn't, and still can't, believe that this is the superior race! You fought because you were Dad's little soldier, who did everything he wanted without question." She summoned the Sword of Michael to her hand; turning it in her hand for a few minutes, she tossed it at his feet. "Take this back; you'll need it. I'll keep Lucifer's, for now. After all, it was the last present you gave me when you branded me."

As she walked back to her room, Michael stood. "What about the Winchesters?"

"What about them, Michael?" She stopped but didn't turn.

"It is your job to protect them, to make sure that they followed their destiny. To make sure that the Apocalypse goes the right way." Now he looked like he was begging. How... debasing for the Commander of the Host to beg of a Horseman.

"Dean and Sam can take care of themselves. Without me in the picture, then they can make their own choices, as they always have before." She snorted. "And that whole bit about destiny? That's a load of 'bite me'! If there was such a thing as destiny, then you should ask our Father the next time you see him why I'm the only creature on the planet without one! Why there's no plan for me?"

There, she had finally told him her last secret. She turned back to him a final time, watching the anguish of his feelings play out on his face. "I'm the Horseman of Change, brother, and I live to change up the plans that others have made. I live to make people face the unknown. Just like our Father made me face the unknown when he told me that there was no plan for me, that I was simply an extra in that little threesome of ours."

"And she's one of us now." She felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Tiesen, looking at the angel with his hawkish eyes. She felt the others come and stand with her in the pouring rain. All of them had their blades out, but none of them pointed them at Michael. They were serving more as warnings then actual threats. "Now scat, angel boy. Before I show you why I'm called War."

Michael took one last look at her before zapping back to heaven. She turned to Gaelen, Tiesen, Rika, and Chale, and smiled at them all. "What say we get some more sleep, eh?"

**

* * *

All mentions of Gaelen, Rika, Chale, and Tiesen belong to silver ruffian and the story "The Black Horse and The Cherry Tree".**


	19. Hammer of the Gods

**All mentions of Tiesen, Gaelen, Chale, and Rika belong to silver ruffian and the story, "The Black Horse and the Cherry Tree"**

**As usual, I don't own a cent of Supernatural. Would if I could, but I don't.**

**

* * *

**Ari lounged around their base in Ipswich with a snoring Gaelan as the others went out prowling for new targets. With the upcoming Apocalypse, all five of them felt their powers growing. After that last little meet and greet with Michael, all of them came to an agreement: they would work for no one, and they would work for both sides. After all, both sides had their purposes, their needs for the Horsemen. But they were freelancers, working on contract and for the rewards of greater power and their names being spread around. It, however, had been a few weeks since that last engagement and they were getting bored.

A gust of wind blew open the securely locked door; she was quick to her feet with Lucifer's Sword in her hands. "Oh come on, little one! Is that how you greet your elders?" She would have recognized that voice anywhere. As the wind settled, a man dressed in a valet suit stood before her. Gaelen was slowly rousing from his feet; as soon as he saw the man in front of him, he hit his head to the pillow and groaned profusely.

"Mercury." She sheathed her sword and looked him over with a disparaging eye. "You haven't changed a bit in the last couple millennia, have you?" He completely ignored her inquiry and went straight to Gaelen.

"Lord Death, your presence has been requested at the Elysian Fields Hotel two days from today in order to discuss our plans for the impending Judeo-Christian Apocalypse." Gaelen lifted a lazy eyebrow and stared at the Roman deity. "It has been deemed prudent that one of the Horsemen attend, to allow for a different set of eyes on the situation." He placed a embossed envelope on the dresser and zoomed out of here as the rest of the brothers came through the door.

"Whoa! What the hell happened?" Chale and Rika looked around, expecting some kind of danger. Tiesen, on the other hand, just yawned and crashed in a chair, chugging at a bottle of dark ale.

"I've been invited to go to the local pagan's gathering..." Gaelen sighed, sitting up. He took the envelope in his giant hands and turned it over. Ari sat back down again and groaned. Some of the local deities were just pissy in their contests, but they were talking major league, if the envelope was any indication. I mean, gold trim? Embossed with a wax seal? Calligraphy? This was meant for the hoity-toity of the pagan world. Wouldn't it be awesome to be a fly on the wall during those conversations? She was lying back on her bed when the envelope landed on her lap.

"Ari, you go." She cocked an eyebrow at him, but she picked the envelope up with curiosity. She was never good at hiding what she was feeling around her brothers; why should she? She ripped open the seal and read the invitation. It contained no more information than what Mercury had told them. "I mean, you're the closest blood relative to both sides of the war. You are perfect for this mission." She looked over at Gaelen as he laced his fingers behind his head and stretched out, a sly smile on his face.

"You just don't want to go because you don't like parties, do you, Gaelen?" At that, all of them laughed and she opened up a new can of beer.

"Yep. And as head Horseman, I choose you to go. Now get! You gotta get to Route 35 in Indiana quick-like." With that, they shoved her out of the door and locked it behind them, laughing all the way. She chuckled, slipped the envelope in her duster pocket, and revved her engine. She placed a hand on her hip, where the pommel of Lucifer's sword was resting. She would need all the help that she was going to get if she was going to be in the same room with a bunch of ancient deities for who knows how long.

Hopefully, they had some seriously good liquor there.

* * *

She pulled into the Elysian Fields Hotel off Route 35 in twelve hours time. It was nothing for her to travel so far; besides, she liked driving in cars. They could go so fast! Not as fast as angel-zapping, but she would take what she could get. As she parked, she saw a familiar vehicle that made her head hurt. What the hell were the Winchesters doing here? This just got a whole lot more complicated...

Still, she walked into the hotel with her usual swagger as she stopped at the front desk. There were mortals everywhere, just waiting to become unknowing sacrifices for the gods. Mercury was at the front desk, typing away. She rang the bell and smirked at him. "Checking in." Mercury looked up at her with a brief look of surprise before smiling back at her.

"Welcome to the Elysian Fields Hotel. For how long will you be staying with us?" She wanted so badly to wipe that smug look off his face.

"For as long as this conference takes, godling." She grabbed the key from his hand and walked off to her room, bumping into someone on the way there. She locked her room and laid out on her bed. The conference was starting in a day; time enough to eat and relax before the punches would inevitably begin to fly.

* * *

After waking from her night's rest, Ari got up to sample the breakfast buffet supplied for all of the 'guests'. She saw a greater number of deities than humans than the night before, but what could you expect of gods that ate humans as their general meals? Herself? Give her an all-American cheeseburger and a cold beer any day, and she was a happy camper. For the rest of the day, she spent it to herself in her room listening to music and reading a new novel that she had found, _The Singing Sword _by Jack Whyte.

At five in the evening, she walked down the hall of the hotel to the conference room, her black duster swirling at her feet. She made sure that her clothes were spotless, that her sword was cleaned, and that all her hair was tied back without a strand out of place; she didn't want to make a poor impression on the gods for the Horsemen, especially since the point of the meeting was to talk about their Apocalypse. Mercury opened the door for her and she walked into the room with a confidence that she wished was hers for real. There were so many of them...

"Who are you?" An African-American man, a giant, walked towards her. He and Gaelen could have been twins except for the fact that Gaelen was easily stronger than him. His suit was crisp and his hands were soft, as if he had never fought a day in his life. He bore a name-tag near his lapel that read 'Baron Samedi'. She walked over to the table and wrote out a name-tag for herself: 'Change'. "What kind of a name is that?"

"No name, but a title. One that I have earned." She walked past him, grabbing a flute of champagne, and sprawled out in a chair.

"How dare you sit before us all?" This time, it was a woman of Indian descent that came to her; her eyes were cold, and yet Ari could see the fire burning in them. Her name-tag read 'Kali'.

"There were no rules against it, Kali. Besides, I am not one of you." At that, the goddess got mighty angry, but another god stopped her hand. He was dressed in a fine suit and he was a handsome man, but his brown eyes were cold. His tag was 'Baldur'.

"Ah, the Horseman of Change." Everyone in the room grew quiet as they turned and looked at her. "Welcome. However, I didn't expect you to come."

"Mercury dropped the invitation off for my brothers. Said only one of us had to come. So, my brothers decided to send me." She kept her lineage a secret, for now. That would become a useful bargaining chip for later in the game. "Out of them all, they believe that I am the better at negotiation, Baldur."

"So, Change." Baron Samedi walked up to her with another of the gods, 'Odin'. "Do you have any other names?"

She sipped at her champagne, looking at the glass in her hand intently. "Yes."

Odin tried to be charming; that was a hard act to pull off considering his hunter clothes and easily cold demeanour. "What are they?"

"Private." Before either of them could say another word, the doors slammed open and Dean and Sam were pushed into the room by two other gods. Baldur stood up and smiled at them. "Our guests of honor have arrived. Now, we can begin."

* * *

Once all the gods and Ari were seated around the tables, Baldur stood up once more. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming this evening. In all my centuries, I never thought that I would see this." He looked around at all of the gods present. "This many gods under one roof."

Ari was sitting close enough to the brothers to hear Sam sputter, "Gods?" in a scared confused voice. They truly didn't know what they were getting themselves into.

Balduer continued his speech. "Now, before we get down to brass tacks, a few ground rules. No slaughtering each other; please curb your rage. And please, stay away from the local virgins. We're trying to keep a low profile here." That got a couple of the male gods looking sheepish.

Sam spoke up again. "Oh, we are so screwed." Ari shot him a glance: he had no idea.

"Now, we all know why we're here. The Judeo-Christian Apocalypse looms over us. Our newest guest," he motioned to Ari, "is a testament to that. Change and her brothers War, Pestilence, Famine, and Death are agents of the Apocalypse, and as such, have been invited to witness and to tell us of their work.

"Now, I know we've all had our little disagreements in the past, but the time has come to put them aside and look towards the future. Because if we don't, we won't have one." Ari took a sip of the champagne in her hand as he continued.

"Now, we do have two very valuable bargaining chips." He raised his arm and pointed to the Winchester brothers. "Michael's and Lucifer's vessels. The question is," he looked around once more, "what do we do now? Anyone have any bright ideas? Speak up: this is a safe place."

Zao Shen stood up and ranted in Chinese. Ari could understand it, though. "We should kill them!"

Ganesh snorted. "Kill them? Why? So the angels can bring them back again?"

Odin leaned back in his chair and began to speak about his version of the end of days. Ari stopped listening for a while. The gods tended to get finicky when their ideas of the end of the world were challenged by others. It was best to keep her opinions to herself at that point. She did see the brothers try to leave, but the chandelier from the ceiling crashed in front of them, disrupting the arguments at hand.

Kali stood up, her face calm and yet angry at the same time. "Stay." The brothers turned around and stared at all of the gods as Kali did the same. Ari turned and watched the Indian deity speak. "We have to fight. The archangels, the only thing they understand is violence." Ari bit back a snort in her champagne; how right and yet how wrong Kali was at the same time. Luckily, no one noticed her. "This ends in blood; there is no other way. It's them, or us."

Mercury raised his hand to mention something. "With all due respect, ma'am, we haven't even tried talking to them." Kali glared at Mercury, and he began to choke in his seat. Ari grinned: Darth Vader would be proud of her. This kept up until Baldur stopped it. "Kali!"

Kali looked at Mercury. "Who asked you?" She was right on that point. Talking to the archangels would do nothing this late in the game.

That was when the greatest surprise ever walked through the conference doors. Her brother Gabriel walked in like he owned the joint. "Can't we all just get along?" He grinned at all of the gods as Baldur got to his feet. "Sam... Dean... It's always wrong place, worst time with you muttonheads, isn't it?" Gabriel looked around, saw Ari, and winked at her.

"Loki." Baldur growled.

Gabriel looked in front of him with that sanctimonious tone. "Baldur. Good seeing you, too. Guess my invitation got lost in the mail." Ari noticed that Kali looked at Gabriel with something like remembrance.

"Why are you here?" Baldur was easily getting frustrated.

"To talk about the elephant in the room." All of the fun was wiped off his face now. Ganesh stood up, insulted by the remark, but Gabriel pointed at him to sit down. "Not you. The Apocalypse. We can't stop it, gang." He looked at the gods and held up a finger. "But first things first." He turned to Dean and Sam. "The adults need to have a little conversation. Check you later." He snapped his fingers, and the humans were gone.

But Baldur had other plans. "Let's take a moment, shall we?" He looked at the clock on the wall. "Say, half an hour?" With that, he burst out of the room by Gabriel and stalked up to his room.

Ari stood and followed Gabriel, walking side by side with him in the direction of her room. "So, little brother." She spoke in whispers so the others wouldn't hear her. "Want to explain yourself, Loki?"

"Big sister." Gabriel played it subtle as well. "Well, angel's gotta make a life somehow. It's the best way to keep under the radar, after all." He opened the door to the Winchester's room and said, "And when are you ever lucky?" Both of them turned to the angel and Horseman with shock on their faces.

Dean recovered the quickest. "I shoulda known. This place had your stink on it from the get-go." He glared at Ari. "You were invited here?"

"Technically, Death was, but he hates functions. So I'm the emissary." She sat on the sofa, sinking slightly into the plush wealth. "Deal with it, Dean-o."

Gabriel spoke up. "You think I'm behind this? Please!" He rolled his eyes. "I'm the Costner to your Huston. I'm here to save your asses."

Dean obviously didn't believe that. "You wanna save us?"

Gabriel smirked. "Bingo! Those gods are either gonna smoke your asses, or use you as bait. Either way, you're uber-boned."

"Wow, 'cause a couple of months ago, you were telling us to play our roles? You were uber-boning us!" Dean was trying to understand what was going on, and he got so cute when he was frustrated.

Gabriel continued to smirk and began to walk around. "Oh, the end is still nigh." He looked at Ari sprawled out on the couch. "Ari here is prime example of that. Michael and Lucifer are still gonna dance the lambada, but not tonight. Not here." He turned around to them.

Dean still looked confused. "And why do you care?"

Gabriel began to look a touch bashful. "I don't... care. But... me and Kali... well... we had a thing." Ari looked in disbelief at her younger brother. "Well, what can I say? The chick was all hands."

"Ugh!" Ari wiped her face. "Didn't need that mental image, Gabe!"

Gabe looked insulted at that. "What can I say? I'm sentimental!"

Sam walked forward and steered his piercing gaze at the angel. "Do I have a chance? Against Satan?"

Gabriel leaned forward. "It's a bad idea. Lucifer will turn them all into finger paint. So let's get going while the going's good."

"Lucifer won't kill me, Gabriel." Ari stood up. "I'm his only access to the Horsemen. So if you don't mind, gentlemen, I have a meeting to go back to."

"What the hell, Ari?" Dean stopped her from leaving. "You just gonna leave the humans there to rot?"

She pretended to think for a moment, when truly she had her answer already. "Most likely. Dean, I don't like many humans; hell,I'm barely sure that I like you two anymore after what you did to War and Famine." She looked at the chain around Dean's neck that held the rings there like trophies. "You gonna cut my finger off, too?" She waved the ring in his face. "Humans have destroyed paradise. They have had their time. Lucifer is right: they are nothing but maggots. But," she raised her hand to stop him from speaking, "at least some of you are willing to change in order to survive. That, I respect." With that, she left.

Her headache was getting bigger, and she rubbed her temples as she walked back to the meeting room. This wasn't going to be good.

* * *

She sat in the conference room and drank some of her champagne as the other gods slowly trickled back in. She hid her smile behind another sip.

"So, Change." Baldur leaned against the table next to her. "What are your thoughts about all this?"

Just as she began to speak, Kali dragged Gabriel into the room, followed by Dean and Sam. "How long have you known?" Ari laughed; so he was found out? Big surprise there...

Kali looked quite stern. "Long enough." That was when Ari found herself with two gods holding her to her chair. "Looks like you're not the only one keeping secrets from us." The goddess of destruction walked next to her, Baldur looking confused as he backed away from her. "So, this is the little sister of Michael and Lucifer." All of the gods looked at Ari with disgust.

"Ex-, actually. Those two need to fight their own battles." She fought against Odin's hold on her.

"Ariel, the third archangel ever created." Kali reached into her duster and pulled out the Sword.

"Hey! Personal property, bitch!" Kali shoved the blade into her shoulder, but was shocked when it had no effect on her. "Christo, Kali! I'm not an angel!" Even Gabriel was shocked by that. "I gave up all of the angelic and demonic powers that I had when I became a Horseman! I'm not on either side!" Odin let go of her and she took the sword out of her shoulder. "Next time, do more homework before you use pointy sharp weapons on would-be allies!" She wiped off the blood on the table cloth and sheathed it once more.

Kali turned back to Gabriel. "Surprise, surprise." She looked crushed as Ari's shoulder wound began to heal. "Look's like the Trickster has tricked us."

Gabriel looked at her with a plead in his eyes. "Kali, don't."

Kali leaned down to face him. "You're mine now." She sat down on his knee. "And you have something I want." She reached into his jacket and pulled out his Sword. Ari wanted to bang her head against the table. "An archangel's blade, from the archangel Gabriel." All of the gods were shocked now. Two angels, both under their nose?

Gabriel tried to make light of the moment. "Okay, okay! So I got wings, but that doesn't make me any less wrong about Lucifer!"

Kali looked down on him, betrayal written all over her face. "He's lying. He's a spy."

Gabriel looked at her through his eyebrows. "I'm not a spy. I'm a runaway. I'm trying to save you." He leaned forward in the chair. "I know my brother, Kali. And he should scare the living crap out of you. You can't beat him! I've skipped ahead; seen how this story ends."

Kali interrupted him. "_Your_ story. Not ours." Gabriel looked back at her, a strange look on his face. "Westerners, I swear. The sheer... arrogance." She stood straight and looked down on him, but the hurt was still there. Ari leaned forward without hurting her freshly-repaired shoulder too much. "You think you're the only ones on this planet? You pillage and you butcher in your God's name. But you're not the only religion, and he's not the only God. And now you think you can break this world apart?" A single tear came down Kali's face. "You're wrong. There are _billions_ of us, and we were here first. If anyone gets to end this world," she walked forward and cupped his face in her hand, "it's me."

The next thing happened so fast that not even Ariel could stop it. Kali took Gabriel's Sword in hand and rammed it into his heart. His Grace began to shine as it was destroyed and his scream tore a new scar on her heart.

"Gabriel!" She ran over to him and knelt by his side. "Brother..." Even though she hadn't seen Gabriel in a long time, he was still her brother, the fourth archangel and her kindred. She began to weep over him; she never got to apologize to him for what was last said between them. This war was tearing her family apart.

Kali stood straight, another tear falling down her face. "They can die. We can kill Lucifer." Ari took Gabriel's Sword, the tears running from her golden eyes, and tucked it into her jacket.

That was when Dean stood up and began to walk. "All right, you primitive screw-heads, listen up." Everyone, including Sam, looked at him like he was nuts. Sam asked him if he was crazy; apparently, insulting the gods of the world was Dean's last option before completing losing his life. "Now, on any other given day, I'd be trying my damnedest to kill you, you filthy murdering chimps. But, hey, desperate times." He stopped behind Gabriel's body for a moment and patted Ari's shoulder.

"So, even though I'd love nothing more than to slit your throats, you dicks," he began to walk backwards to the liquor table, "I'm gonna help you." He poured himself a glass, and turned back to the gods. "I'm gonna help you ice the devil." Ari and Sam both looked at him like he was on drugs. How were they going to do that? Dean just smiled and talked. "Then, we can all get back to ganking each other like normal."

He took a sip. "You want Lucifer? Well, dude's not in the yellow pages. But Sam and me, we can get him here."

Kali seemed the most interested as Ari stood up and stared at him. "How?"

"First you let those main courses go. Then we talk."

* * *

Ari sat in her seat, drinking Jack Daniel's now while she listened to Sam try to convince Baldur and Kali of Dean's plan while he was convincing himself at the same time. Something wasn't right, though. When Gabriel died, his wings should have burned to the ground. Why didn't they in this case?

She was brought back to the present when Dean burst into the room. "Show's over." Ari, Kali, and Baldur all looked at him. "The Sword's a fake. And Gabriel? He's still kicking." Dean spared a look at Ari as she sat back down, trying to understand what was happening. Why would Gabriel do something like that? "Yeah, I hate to break it to you, sister, but you've been tricked!" Kali, however, seemed okay with them.

The lights began to flicker, and Ari stood from her seat. She could feel his presence. Lucifer was here. All of them heard the screams outside the conference room.

Sam stated the obvious. "It's him."

Kali looked around, trying to understand the puzzle at hand. "How?"

Dean tried the same thing, only he looked between the two deities. "Does it matter? Sha-zam us outta here, would ya?"

Baldur kept looking at the door. "We can't." Out of all of the gods here tonight, Baldur and Kali had earned Ari's respect. However, standing up to her big brother when he was mad was never the best plan.

The doors opened up, and Lucifer walked through. "Of course you can't. You didn't say, 'Mother, may I?'" He smirked as everyone sans Ari looked at him with shock and horror. "Sam, Dean, good to see you again." He nodded to them before looking at Ari as she walked forward. "Baby sister, you and I need a talk."

Baldur, however, wasn't having it. "You think you own the planet? What gives you the right?" He ran to him, intent on fighting, only Lucifer slammed his hand through Baldur's chest and crushed his heart.

He leaned closer to his ear and whispered, "No one gives us the right. We take it." With that, he made Baldur fall dead to the floor. Kali, utterly furious now, made her arms glow on fire and she tried to tackle with him. That didn't work out so hot either, until he was pulled away from Kali with angelic force. Ari looked over and held back a smile as she stood there watching the prevented bloodbath. Gabriel, truly alive this time, stood up with the real Sword in hand, and spoke. "Lucy, I'm home."

Lucifer tried to attack Kali once again, but Gabriel got in his way. "Not this time." He yelled over his shoulders. "Guys! Get her out of here!"

Both angels ignored Ari for the present moment. Lucifer was surprised as he spoke, "Over a girl? Gabriel, really? I mean, I knew you were slumming, but I hope you didn't catch anything."

Gabriel let that comment go as he stood up in front of his brother. "Lucifer, you're my brother, and I love you, but you are a great big bag of dicks."

Lucifer walked forward. "What did you just say to me?"

Gabriel stood his ground. "Look at yourself! Boo-hoo! So Daddy was mean to me, so I'm gonna smash up all his toys!"

Lucifer got annoyed at that. "Watch your tone."

"Play the victim all you want, but you and me? We know the truth. Dad loved you best, more than Michael, more that Ariel, more than me. You were his favourite. Then he brought the new baby home, and you couldn't handle it. So all this? It's just a great big temper tantrum!" Gabriel adopted a lethal look and shook his Sword at Lucifer. "Time to grow up, big brother."

Lucifer tried to reason with him. "Gabriel, if you're doing this for Michael-"

"Screw him! If he was standing here, I'd shiv his ass too." Gabriel took a little bow, always keeping his eyes on his brother.

Lucifer couldn't believe his eyes. He pointed his finger at him, "You disloyal-"

"Oh, I'm loyal, all right, to them. To people, Lucifer."

Lucifer furrowed his brow. "So you're willing to die, for a pile of cockroaches? Why?"

Gabriel lifted his chin. "Because Dad was right. They are better than us."

Lucifer was now on the brink of losing it. "But they're broken flawed abortions!"

Gabriel stood his ground, once in a while darting a glance at Ari. "Damn right, they're flawed. But a lot of them try. To do better. To forgive. And you should see the Spearman rhino!" Ari chuckled once, her only addition to the whole conversation. Lucifer looked devastated at the words that their baby brother was saying. "I've been riding this wave a long time. But I'm in the game now. And like Ari, I'm not on your side or Michael's. I'm on their's."

Lucifer looked down for a moment. "Brother, don't make me do this." At that moment, Ari finally realized that one of them was going to die tonight. She tightened her grip on her Sword, moving away from both of them while still standing between them. How could she choose between her brothers one more time?

However, Gabriel said something that made her pause. "No one makes us choose anything."

Lucifer looked at him once again, the tears barely holding back. "I know you think you're doing the right thing here, Gabriel. But I know where your heart truly lies." That was when Ari saw it out of the corner of her right eye. Another Gabriel was standing behind Lucifer, the real Sword in hand. They were talking and listening to a fake? Lucifer turned around and rammed the Sword into Gabriel's chest so fast that nobody could have stopped him. "And it's right here."

"GABRIEL!" Ari screamed out his name as she ran and fell to the floor beside him, holding him as he fell to the ground. She sobbed as his Grace was truly destroyed this time, his wings burnt to the ground. She held his body in her arms as she keeled. Lucifer just stood there, watching as he sniffed back his own tears. Ari stood, Gabe's blood on her hands, and began to beat on Lucifer's chest. "You son of a bitch! Why? Why him?"

Lucifer just held her still as she ranted. Yet another brother was gone, but it didn't have to be this way. "I'm so sorry, Ari."

"You're SORRY?" She ripped himself away from him and drew her own Sword. "You're SORRY? You KILLED HIM!"

"He was going to kill me! It was justified!" Lucifer held up his hands, trying to back away from his beyond-livid sister.

"Justified?" She grew quiet for a moment, rage vibrating off her body in visible waves. "You felt it was justified to kill your own brother?" She let loose an almighty roar that shook the hotel to its very foundations, knocking even Lucifer off of his feet. "HOW MANY, LUCIFER? HOW MANY MORE NEED TO DIE? One? Five? Ten? One thousand? HOW MANY MORE?" Her golden eyes were shining with the light of her fury as every bone in her body shook. "YOU AND MICHAEL HAVE DESTROYED EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE THAT I EVER LOVED!" She backed away from him, trying so hard not to run him through. "And before this world burns, I'm going to destroy you both." She disappeared out of there, leaving no trace behind.

She landed back in Ipswich, her majestic rage depleted and leaving her completely wiped. Her brothers were waiting for her outside of the house, but they saw the look on her face and started to come forward to her. "What happened, Ari?" Gaelen walked forward and caught her as she fell to the ground.

She grabbed onto his jacket and held onto it like it was all that was holding her here. "He's gone. Gabriel's gone." Tiesen, Rika, and Chale had all come forward and knelt next to her, trying to get her calmed down before she blew up again. "I wanna kill them. Both of them." She looked at them all as they helped her to stand. "We have work to do."


	20. Two Minutes Til Midnight

**All mentions of Tiesen, Gaelen, Chale, and Rika belong to silver ruffian and the story, "The Black Horse and the Cherry Tree"**

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Gaelen and his brothers watched over Ari after she returned from the pagan gathering utterly destroyed. After that meeting, she began to rip this world a new one. Plans that had been in motion for years, centuries even, were destroyed as she fully became the Horseman of Change. Destinies were destroyed, and free will became more than an illusion: it became a reality. Some would say that it was a good thing, but only Ari knew how horrible it was to have no destiny, to know that there was no plan for you, that you were simply here for the ride. Chale tried his best to cheer her up, but he stopped after the first few times when his efforts went unnoticed. Tiesen and Rika were really worried for her, but they did nothing to stop her: who knows what could set her off next?

Gaelen was the only one that she would confide in, and he would tell the brothers after she went to rest. At night, they listened to the screams and ignored them; the next day, she would act as if everything was normal, but at night she would grieve. Piece by piece, Gaelen pulled the story out of her. How Gabriel was her little brother, more like her best friend before the Fall. How, during the battle, he disappeared and left her alone. That was the first chink in her armour that Alastair exploited: her inability to keep her family together. She told him about the time when she, Dean, and Sam found him again. How she screamed at him for leaving her alone. How she ordered him never to show his face to her again. How she regretted those words as she walked away from him. How, at the conference, she never got to apologize for saying that to him, how she never got a chance at forgiveness. How, every night, she relived his death over and over and how she couldn't stop it.

It got to the point that Ari was impossible to be around without getting her angry at the slightest of details. Her brothers stopped talking to her; they left her completely alone, with the condition that if she wanted to talk, they would be there. Once they left, Ari felt even more despondent, like the greater piece of her heart was gone once again. She wept herself dry and raged at the world, but then she had drained herself completely of the rage. She was empty, and she missed her brothers.

It was three weeks after the conference when she finally got control of herself and of her powers and came back to her brothers. Ari no longer screamed at night, no longer raged out at her brother Horsemen. She was herself once again, save for the void in her heart. She watched and waited, waited for her chance to complete her only goal: destroy Michael and Lucifer, the ones that had taken everything that she had valued and treasured and turned it into a weapon. That could wait, though. It was Chale's turn to wreck havoc on the mortals.

Before she had become one of the Horsemen almost five months ago, Lucifer had approached Chale with an offer: if he were to distribute the Croatoan virus while he was infecting the world, then he and his brothers would be richly rewarded when the Apocalypse was over. Chale told him to stick it where the sun shines: no one interferes in the affairs of the Horsemen, not even the Devil himself. This swine flu that he had created was spreading like wildfire, fueling people with panic. Plus, there were other diseases to be played with to, all of which come out of those lovely developing countries, and all of which have no immunity in the developed world. This was good enough. Of course humankind would develop a vaccine to the swine flu, but by then this worldwide pandemic will have done its damage. All those little diseases running rampart around the world? It was like heaven on earth for Chale. And now, they were one step closer to watching the world burn.

Chale went off to one of his 'petri dishes' as he called them to watch his experiment unfold. He was trying to combine chicken pox and dengue fever, and where better to try this new combination than at a convalescent home, where people were just waiting to die? Never let it be said that the Horsemen didn't had a sense of mercy. If it helped them to get closer to the Apocalypse, then a few sacrifices were necessary. Ari and the others were moving their base of operations to Chicago, where Gaelen wanted to begin his increase of personal power. Now that people were dying from Chale's infections and diseases, time to amp up the power. Unlike his brothers, Gaelen had been around for millenia, almost as long as Ari. Tiesen, Chale, and Rika came to be before her time in Hell, right around the start of the Fall. His power was unfathomable: natural disasters were his ball game. Floods, fires, earthquakes, torrential rain storms? He had so much in store for this pathetic planet.

Ari was polishing her Sword in their apartment in Chicago; they had picked a place in the middle of the town close to that bar that they went to the last time they were in the city. Gaelen was out creating torrential rain storms and earthquakes around this area, and Tiesen and Rika were exploring this town. When Chale would return, they would go out for a meal. However, nothing ever goes according to plan.

Gaelen returned after a lovely little torrential downpour began to take over this city. Floods were inevitable at this point. Tiesen and Rika were back, changing out of their wet clothes. As they chuckled lowly to themselves, Chale burst through the door, clutching his bloody hand. His tanned face was pale now, and his golden eyes were in agony. Ari and Rika lifted him onto the bed and got him to uncover his hand. His ring was missing, as well as two of his fingers. Ari growled. "Winchesters?"

Chale shook his head. "Your bloody ex. Working with the mortals. Took my ring. Goddammit!" He slapped his head against the pillow.

"Calm down, Chale!" Ari wrapped his hand up in bandages, trying to stop the blood. He would heal on his own, but not while he was so angry. Once he had calmed down, then he could focus on healing himself. Ari stood up and looked to Gaelen. The oldest Horseman cleared his throat and waited for the others to listen. "Brothers, and sister. It is clear what has to happen next."

Tiesen whipped his braided hair around as he turned so fast to glance at their leader/brother. "What happens next? That's simple! Kill off Dean and Sam!"

Rika nodded his head. "They've been after us since they found Tiesen in River Pass. Come on, Gaelen! Three rings, in less than a year? Even Lucifer couldn't do something like that, and he's been searching far longer." His mulatto features darkened as he thought about this. "What other options are there?"

"We trap Lucifer back in his cage." At that, all four of them paused and looked at Gaelen in a new light. "That's what our rings are for. They aren't channels of our powers, the sources. They're part of that angel's cage back in Hell. However," he cleared his throat and looked out the window, "it can only be done by a vessel." Ari stared at Gaelen, her face clearly reading _what the hell are you saying?_ "We need the Winchesters."

All five of the Horsemen were silent, thinking it over. Tiesen was thinking that this could actually be a decent plan. Rika was thinking about his own desire to help Ari out, how this might work. Chale, behind all the painful rage, was thinking along the same lines as Tiesen. Ari, however, thought about her own plan to destroy her older brothers. If Dean and Sam actually said 'yes', then Lucifer and Michael would be in the same place at the same time. She wouldn't have to hunt them down. They would come right to her. She looked up at Gaelen. "All right. Let the Winchesters come to us. Bobby will be with them. I'll arrange a meet at MacAnally's for two days from now." She sheathed her sword and walked over to Gaelen. "I hope this works, brother." With that, she hopped in her Impala and drove like the wind to South Dakota.

* * *

A ten hour trip was condensed into two as she walked up the stairs and opened the door to Bobby's place at midnight. She walked on silent feet past the devil's trap, past the salt-loaded shotgun and silver machete and walked into the library. Bobby was looking through a book, not even paying attention. Dean and Sam looked sound asleep on the couch. Castiel was sitting on the floor, out like the dead. She couldn't sense any angel left inside of him, but Cas was still in his vessel. How interesting... She picked up the bottle of Jack's and walked right through the shadows to Bobby's right. "How's it coming, Bobby?" She spoke quietly, setting off a wonderful chain of events. Bobby jerked in his chair and shot her right through the chest with a shotgun, to no effect. Dean and Sam woke and had daggers and shotguns in their hands pointed right at her. Cas jumped to his feet, only to fall right back down in weakness.

She just stood there and watched the hunters and ex-angel slowly recognize her. Dean was first. "Ari?" She lifted up the bottle of Jack's and took a swig. Sam was still confused. "Ariel?" She cringed at that name; the being associated with that name had been long dead. "What the hell?" Cas didn't even acknowledge her. Bobby stared at the place where he had shot her, where no blood was coming out.

"Bobby, I like this jacket!" She looked at the iron buckshot holes in her shirt and jacket as she manipulated them to mend in front of their eyes. "Besides, immortal, remember? Can't kill me that way." She placed the bottle of Jack's down and stared at them all. "Look, I'd like to stay and chat, but I've got places to be and people to kill, so I'll keep it short. If you want the keys to Lucifer's cage, come to MacAnally's Tavern in Chicago for five in the evening tomorrow. All will be explained then." She made to leave, but paused. "Oh, and boys?" She winked at them. "I'd come if I were you. Death doesn't usually take no for an answer."

* * *

The sun sank and rose, and it was the next evening before anyone could do anything. Chale had finally calmed down enough to heal up his hand, but it was a nasty war wound; for the sake of people passing by, he covered his hand in a layer of gauze and tape, thanks to the medical skill of his sister. As one, all five of them walked into the tavern and watched as the local-yokels cleared out. The owner looked at them, same as before, and pointed to the sign above his door that read, "Accorded Neutral Ground." All of the Horsemen nodded, but Ari walked up to the bar. "Five ales and sandwiches, please?" He stared at her for another moment. "Don't worry, sir. We have a peaceful meeting here." She unsheathed her sword and handed it over to him. "As a promise." One by one, all five lifted their dusters and their shirts and showed that they carried no mortal weapons. Neutral ground was neutral ground; no blood was to be shed here tonight.

Dean, Sam, Bobby, and Cas came a few minutes before five. They drove all through the pre-dawn light to get here in time. The rainfall didn't help much either. All six of them heard the racket that getting Bobby out of the Impala and down the stairs. The mortals looked at the Horsemen in disgust; they still thought they were demons, even after all this?

"Dean, Sam. Good of you to come. Bobby." Ari looked over her shoulder as she turned to face them. "Castiel." That introduction was far colder than the others. "Please, leave your weapons with Mac."

"Why? So you can kill us easier?" At Bobby's accusation, Ari grew far serious.

"No. Because this is neutral ground, Robert Singer. Not even we shall disregard that. So, please, leave your four shotguns, two handhelds, and the three knives on your persons to Mac." She motioned over to the bar before sitting back down with her brothers. The seating arrangement worked in their favour: the corner booth sat six comfortably, and with Mac's permission, they moved a few chairs from the back to sit in front of them. Dean, Sam, and Cas took their seats; Bobby wheeled his way over.

"So, Dean. Rumour has it that you're looking for me." Gaelen took a swig of his ale, looking right at the eldest Winchester. "Well, here I am. Hi, I'm Death." He sighed and took another swig of the liquor.

"You're..." Sam looked reluctant to believe it. So Gaelen proved it: with a bat of his eye, he made the thunderstorm outside get worse: tornado-force winds, monsoon.

"Sit. It gets old, talking to humans. Besides, you never even asked my name." All four of the mortals in front of them (Castiel had no powers left, so he wasn't a true angel in the sense of the word) were shocked. "Please, Death is a title. Just as Ari is Change, I am Gaelen. My brothers are Tiesen, Rika, and Chale." Each of them waved a maimed hand at them, reminding them of their dues. "You try going through life being called Hunter. No one cares for you, for you are nothing to them but a tool. Me?" He placed the bottle down. "I'm old, Winchesters. God and I don't remember who came first. But in the end, he knows I'll reap him too."

"You'll reap God?" Bobby turned whiter than a ghost, but Cas was turning redder and redder by the moment.

"Oh, he knows it, Castiel. He knows it. But, down to business." Gaelen flashed a grin and leaned forward. "You want to trap the Devil, right? Well, you'll be needing these, won't you?" He and Ari both lifted their hands up. "By the way, boys, you could ask next time for the rings. They're nothing special to us. They're not the source of our powers." Ari's eye gleamed as she summoned the three rings from Bobby's pocket and placed them on the table. "I'm inclined, and so is Ari, to give you these rings."

"Why?" Cas looked at the five like they were roaches. "Don't you work for Lucifer?"

All five of them growled. "Ari and I have lived since the beginning of time. My brothers came about during the time of the Fall. Not once have I seen Lucifer, other than for a moment at my rebirth. Not once have I talked to Lucifer. He isn't giving the orders. I am." Gaelen's voice dipped down an octave and made the mortals cringe. "No one interferes with the Horsemen. Not the Devil, not God, and certainly not mortals." He spat that last word out with so much venom that it hurt. "Why do you think that there's no Croatoan virus running around yet? Because my brother," he nodded to Chale, "refused Lucifer. We don't make deals with the Devil, and we don't make deals with the angels."

"Dean, Sam." Now it was Ari's turn to speak. "Do you want the rings or not? This is a one-time offer, and we will live long after the Apocalypse is over. Your fates, however, are still in dispute." She drained her bottle of ale. Cas left right then and there, stalking out the door like a child. Ari just chuckled a few times; still the same old stubborn Cas. The three remaining mortals looked at each other, slowly coming to an easily-read conclusion.

"Okay, we're in." All five of the Horsemen nodded as Dean and Sam stood up.

"However, there is one condition." Without asking for their permission, Ari looked to Bobby. She stared at him for a while. "Aren't you going to join us, Bobby?" He began to wheel his way to the table, but she stopped him with a single extended finger. "Walk to the table, Bobby. It shouldn't be too hard." Dean and Sam glared at her like she was insulting their best friend, but Bobby looked confused as he began to wiggle his toes. In one grunted moment, he stood up and stared at her in shock. Ari nodded her head once to him, a salute to the senior hunter. "Consider this thanks for watching out for these two knuckleheads."

"What did you do to him?" Dean looked right livid, but it was Sam she was intrigued with. His fists were white from the tension, his face completely riddled with anger.

"Really, guys, I'm not Change for a reason." She sat back in the booth. "I didn't have the powers before because beloved brother Michael made me a warrior! Now, I'm not angel, not demon, not mortal. Get it through your skulls, because I've told you both this several times. I'm. A. Horseman. My powers are beyond your recognizance. Now thank me for the gift, or Bobby goes back to the chair permanently." Her golden eyes threatened to go back for a moment. "I don't like it, Dean, when I do good and others question my motives."

"Boys, you might wanna do what the young lady asks." Rika and Chale both sipped at their ales. "She just got off a three week power spree, so she can kill you guys quite easily. But, we need you for our plans to work."

"Ari, relax. They are important to our plans." Tiesen tugged on her shirt, keeping her in place. "Remember, this is neutral ground!" That was the only thing that kept her from ripping out their throats.

Gaelen looked back to them. "The key to remember, is that this only works with an occupied vessel. Now, do you want the user instructions, or not?"


	21. Just Rewards

**AN: All mentions of Gaelen, Tiesen, Rika, and Chale belong to the wonderful mind of silver ruffian.**

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**Dean was utterly shaken as he left the room in Detroit, walking on unsteady feet back to the Impala. His brother had said 'Yes', even though Lucifer knew everything about the rings. Their plan had failed. It was simple, really, almost too simple: Sam was going to jump into the cage, Dean was going to lock him and Lucifer inside of it, and then he was going to try his damnedest to get Sammy out of there. However, Sammy made him make a promise before it all went down: after he jumped in the hole, after Dean had locked his little brother away forever, he was to walk away. He was to find Lisa again, and live an apple pie life. What kind of a promise was that, after everything that they had gone through together? What kind of a life was that without his baby brother standing at his side?

Cas said that it would be the best plan to get some booze, get rip-roaring drunk, and just wait to die. Even Bobby, stalwart Bobby, had given up. But this was Sam! His Sammy, his little brother! He was not going to give up that easily. Even if he got to the final battle just in time to see that dick Michael kill Lucifer, then he wasn't going to let Sammy die all by himself. No way. That wasn't the end to this story.

He drove the Impala to an empty lot, and pulled out a sheet of paper. On it was a number, a cellphone scrawled in a female's hand. After that meeting in Chicago, after he apologized to her for his reaction to Bobby standing up, she handed him this piece of paper. "Call me when it gets bad, Dean, and it will get bad" she had said. "Call me, and I'll come." Well, it wasn't going to get any better than this, was it? With a shaky breath, he dialed the number and waited.

* * *

Ari was drinking some of Mac's ale in their little house back in Ispwich. Her brothers were all out, having some fun. They were glad that the Apocalypse was finally here. So was she, for that fact. But something inside of her wanted so badly to stop this. But not even she would try to stop the Apocalypse. Change she may be, but she wasn't powerful enough to stop it on her own. Truthfully, she was scared shitless of what was about to go down.

Her brothers were going to fight one another, and Michael was going to kill Lucifer. That was their destiny, the roles laid out for them by their father before Lucifer even fell the first time. She? She had no destiny. But that was why she was Change. She could make them stop, even for a moment to listen. Deep down, she knew that they both loved each other, just as they still loved her. Sure, they were the estranged family of the year followed closely by the Winchesters, but they would still love each other through thick and thin. It was something that their Father had written in their DNA right from the start. They were family, and family was the most important thing to her above power, above freedom, and above revenge. But she needed some help. So she was waiting for the call.

The vibrating in her pocket stopped her reverie. She took out the little piece of plastic and metal, so important to the communication of humans, and spoke into it. "Hey, Dean."

_"Ari..."_ She could hear the tears coming down his face even from Massachusetts. _"He said 'yes'."_

"Where are you, Dean?" She was off the bed and writing a quick note to her brothers, saying her final goodbye as it were. Gaelen would understand. Tiesen would think that she was reckless, and she would probably break Rika and Chale's hearts. But her brothers, her blood brothers, needed her right now, even if both of them were too proud to say it. She may have disowned herself from the politics of the Citadel, but her family was on the line.

_"Detroit. Heart of Motown." _She heard him clearing his throat._ "Do you know where the battle's going to be?"_

"No, Dean. But Chuck must. He's the prophet. He must have heard something. I'm on my way. Call him, get the place. We'll go together." She hung up on him, and ran out to her car. She saw Tiesen returning, but he wasn't quick enough to stop it. In an instant, she zapped herself and her Impala out to the parking lot where Dean was waiting for her. She slowly got out of the car and walked towards him, looking at how tired he was, how felt the same way, even if it didn't show on her face. She did the next thing on sisterly instinct: she wrapped her arms around Dean, and let his head sag against her shoulder. She rubbed his back, whispering mumbles into his ear as he tried so hard not to cry. The tears fell from her eyes freely.

"I'm sorry, Dean." She looked at him as she pushed him away. "This never should have to happen, to anyone." She leaned against the hood of her car, the pommel of the sword in her hand. "I promise you, on my word as a Horseman, that I will try my hardest to save Sam." She stared straight at him, her golden eyes telling nothing but truth. "Now, tell me everything." So he did. He told her about the demon blood that Sammy drank, about them going into that apartment and him saying 'yes' to Lucifer even though he already knew about the rings. At that, Ari grunted and sighed; typical Lucifer, for him to know everything. Sam and Lucifer fought in his head, and Dean opened the door just like Gaelen told him how to. Sam began to walk towards the gate, but then he stopped. Turning around, he smiled at Dean and was no longer Sam but Lucifer. Lucifer closed the gate and disappeared. Dean was shaking again by now, but he held it together, if just barely.

"Have you called Chuck yet?" He shook his head. Ari nodded. She placed a hand on Dean's shoulder and zapped them to Chuck's house. They needed answers, and they needed them now. She knocked on the door for them, keeping an eye on Dean as the prophet answered. For once, Chuck was dressed in actual clothes and not a bathrobe. He appeared to be mostly sober, save for the half-full glass of whiskey in his hand.

"Guys?" He stared at them as he let them in without a word. "What's going on? You're not in this part of the story."

Ari stared at him, before taking a breath. "Prophet, you know what I am. You know what I do. Well, our brothers need saving. And we need your help." She saw Dean sit on a staircase, looking out the door. "Where is the final fight between Michael and Lucifer supposed to take place?"

Chuck stared at them for a while, his face in shock but his mind still twirling. "The angels are keeping it hush-hush, Ariel."

"It's Ari, Chuck." Dean spoke up. "She hasn't been Ariel or Afriel for a long time. And saying that name tends to piss her off."

"But that's how the angels refer to her..." Chuck sat back down in front of his computer.

"Well, my brothers have become somewhat similar to dicks in recent months. I became Ari shortly after Carthage. But, Prophet, please." She tried to not beg for this information, but she would if it was necessary. "We need to know."

Chuck nodded his head, before chuckling twice. "Well, just because the angels are keeping it hush-hush doesn't mean that I didn't catch it. Perks of being a prophet, I guess." He looked over his notes, and found it. "It's tomorrow. A place in Kansas: Stull Cemetery. High noon."

"Stull..." Dean reached back into his memories. "Wait a minute. That's just outside of Lawrence!" Dean and Ari shared a glance before heading out to leave.

"Wait, Ari!" Dean walked outside, but Chuck grabbed her shoulder to tell her something. "I don't know how this story ends, but I hope that you get what you want." Ari just nodded and walked back outside. A quick zap back to Detroit for their cars, and time to drive to Lawrence. It was a little past midnight now, and a thirteen hour car drive laid ahead of them. Ari drove, Dean rested. Hold on guys, the cavalry's coming.

* * *

The thirteen-hour trip was condensed into eleven. Ari drove all through the night and into the morning. When they were just outside the cemetery, Dean switched places in the car with Ari and popped in a tape. The song 'Rock of Ages' began to play out as they rode into the cemetery and interrupted the two archangels talking with each other. Dean and Ari opened their doors and hopped out of the car. Ari had Lucifer's Sword in hand, staring at them with a closed look on her face. Dean placed a foot on the doorjamb and looked at the angels in front of him. "Hey guys. Are we interrupting something?"

Michael and Lucifer stared at the two of them like they were on drugs. "Dean, even for you, this is a whole new mountain of stupid." He tossed a look at Ari, one almost of satisfaction. "Well, little sister. Come to try to talk us out of this?"

"Yes." She walked forward, her grip on the sword tightening just a little. "Michael, Lucifer, why?" She looked at the two of them with easily-read pain on her face. "I mean, Dad really wants you to do this? For one of you to kill the other? Come on! This doesn't make sense!" She shoved the sword tip-first into the ground. "Michael, God made you two this way. He wants Lucifer to be who he is, just as you are to be who you are. But I don't wanna lose either of you."

"Ariel." Michael glared at her, pure venom on his face and in his voice. "You fell a year ago with your lover Castiel. By what right do you think you have any say in this?" Obviously, he had taken their last conversation to heart.

"Because I'm more powerful than both of you, because I have the one thing that neither of you will ever have!" She looked at them both. "Free will."

Lucifer stared at her for a moment, completely thrown off; she had never told him this, and there was no time like the present to tell all secrets. "Lu, I have no destiny. God made me that way, the little extra in our happy family. So, Michael, you were wrong. There is such thing as free will, and it's no illusion."

Dean walked up, sliding closer to Lucifer. "Sammy, are you in there?"

Lucifer had the most hideous scowl on his face as he turned his head and stared at Dean. "Sam's not here. He's gone, Dean."

Michael was getting riled now as well. "Neither of you have a role to play anymore. Stop interfering!"

"Hey, asshat!" All four of the beings in the middle of the graveyard watched as Castiel threw a holy fire Molotov cocktail at the commander of the Hosts. They watched as Michael and his vessel burst into a smoldering mess of holy fire and burning flesh before disappearing. "He'll be back, and he'll be pissed. But you got your five minutes." Cas turned to Ari. "And you have your brother again, traitor."

"Fuck off, you idiot!" All of the men stared at the fallen angel-turned-Horseman as she decked Castiel so hard that his vessel's neck snapped. The tip of her sword was at his neck so quickly that no one stopped her as she straddled him on the ground where he was unable to move. "I chose Afri over you, because you never tried to understand. You were so bloody stuck in your morals that you wouldn't make an attempt to comprehend Hell without a part of your soul." Her eyes were turning from golden to black to hazel and back with the strength of her power, and it was only growing. "If anyone could have tried to understand, I thought it was you! After everything that I went through to come back to you? After you hooked up with my sister and your whore Anna? I was still ready to give it a try." She removed the sword point and Cas glared at her. That was when she struck. Cas looked down at his stomach, where the sword was thrust in to the hilt. He looked at her for a moment, complete shock on his face. She leaned closer to him and whispered in his ear. "By the way, Castiel, no one dicks with Michael except me and Lucifer." She took the sword out and let him collapse again against the ground. He gasped for breath, trying to stay alive.

Ari looked to Lucifer and stood Western style, the hilt of her sword held loosely in her hand. "You and Michael have destroyed everything, Lucifer. Where is the brother that I loved, that taught me how to heal? Where is my oldest brother who loved our family? Who taught me that family ties were stronger than anything, even prophecies?"

Lucifer simply snorted at her, like she was a stupid school girl. "He's still here, Ari. I love you as well, but this is just wrong. Me and Michael shouldn't have to fight, but I will if Michael wishes it. And believe me, he'll need everything he has to stop me!"

"Don't worry, Lucifer. I intend on doing that!" Both of them turned to Michael as he stood livid, his own sword in hand. He charged ahead, his true form threatening to burst out of his vessel. Lucifer tried to push her away, but he ended up grabbing her sword (technically, his sword) and preparing to stop his brother and begin the first duel of the Apocalypse. Ari just stood there between the two of them, not even trying to move. She gasped and looked down at her stomach as her brothers stopped moving. The two swords pierced her sides, one on each, and red blood began to flow out of her. She fell to the ground and looked up at them.

"Ari!" Lucifer fell down to his knees, trying to catch her. Michael just stood above her, a sneer writ on his face; he, however, wasn't good enough at hiding his emotions as he thought, because a rogue shaky tear fell down his face as the sneer began to crumble. She felt the tears fall from her face as Lucifer tried his best to heal her, with no avail. However, it was too late for her. She stopped his hands from fretting over her. "It's okay, Lu." She brought a shaky hand to his face, her blood staining her fingers as she touched his cheek. "I told you that I would destroy you both. Now, I have." She looked up to the sky. "Family above everything else. That was... our code."

Lucifer let her go and gave a menacing stare up at Michael. However, what happened next, no one could have expected.

"Well, this is a royal mess, ain't it?" The three angels, fallen and not, and the two mortals left standing turned to the Impala. Ari's eyes must have been playing tricks on her, because she saw John Winchester sitting on the hood of Dean's car; he was dressed in what Ari had come to call 'hunter's wear': worn blue jeans, a black t-shirt under a flannel long-sleeved shirt, and work boots. At his side were her Horsemen brethren; Gaelen was holding his three brothers back as best he could as they all saw her laying there. John Winchester walked forward between Dean and Lucifer and stared at his oldest son. "Lucifer, Michael, you both are dicks." He stared down at Ari. "You, Ari, are the only one that did as she was supposed to. Thanks."

"Dad?" Dean tried to walk forward, but Bobby stopped him in his tracks.

John Winchester chuckled a few times. "Close, Dean. I am your father, but the father of everyone as well."

Ari let herself lean against an old tombstone, her life slowly going. "Father." John, or the being masquerading as John, nodded. Michael dropped his sword and went to one knee in the eternal gesture of loyalty. Lucifer just stood there, looking at him with questions on his face. Dean and Bobby fell to the ground. God turned to everyone, but went first to his eldest sons.

"Michael, stand up." He did so, the form of Adam Milligan coming to his feet. "I thought I made myself clear the last time around when I left. I didn't want your oldest brother freed from his cell."

At that, Michael stiffened. "But, Father, it was written in your Word that the Apocalypse was to take place! That required Lucifer being set free."

God rolled his eyes. "Michael, I never wanted Lucifer be set free. I never wanted him to fall!" He turned to his oldest son. "Lucifer, you are my favorite, never stopped even when you questioned me. But maybe you think that I made humans that way... what did you call them before you killed Gabriel... "flawed abortions"... because I wanted them that way? I wanted them to learn, to grow. My sons and daughters in heaven were perfect at the time. But that was what Gabriel was trying to tell you: they may be flawed, but most of them try to be better." He turned to Michael, a now angry look on his face. "You, Michael, need to understand that the Word of the human Bible is not my word. I gave no order for the Apocalypse, but I wanted to see what would happen if I allowed it. Thus far, I am not impressed. When I want paradise for this planet, I'll send another flood." There was no sarcasm in his voice, only cold truth. Everyone here present knew that he would do what he promised without any hesitation.

He nodded over to the Horsemen and let them crowd over to Ari. Gaelen and Chale took out the swords, and Ari gasped and yelped as the blood began to pour out of her. Dean and Bobby grew visibly sick at the smell, but it was Tiesen and Rika that held her sides together. All four of them channeled energy into Ari, hoping that it would be enough to save her.

God took over once again. "This time, for both of your transgressions, you will both be punished." He looked over to Ari as her bond-brothers helped her to stand. "War, Death, if you could?" Rika and Chale held Ari up as the two oldest Horsemen walked towards Lucifer and Michael, pushing them to their knees and holding them still against the struggling. God looked to Dean. "Dean, I believe you have something that my daughter needs?" Without a word, he handed her the five rings of the Horsemen, the key to the sealed cage.

Lucifer and Michael fought their captors, but they were too strong for even the angels to get out of. Ari limped over to the site of the cage and spoke the words. "Bvtmon tabges babalon!" She tossed the rings to the ground and let it rip open. She walked over to Lucifer and Michael at best as she could without assistance, a sinister grin on her face, and exorcised the angels out of their bodies. Dean and Bobby closed their eyes against the bright light of the angels' real forms. They never asked how she did it afterwards, because she sent her brothers back to Hell with a smile on her face. The cage closed, the whirling winds came to a stop, and Ari collapsed once more before the breathing bodies of Sam and Adam.

"Ari!" Tiesen rushed to her side, but her wounds were open again and she was bleeding too badly to be saved. "You idiot..." A tear came down War's face as he kissed her forehead. "No. You can't die!" He rushed to God, grabbing the collar of his shirt and slamming him against the Impala. "FIX HER!" His golden eyes were black as coal as the air began to smoke around him. His three brothers tried to hold him back, but this man was a mourning lover and nothing is more dangerous than that save for a grieving parent.

"I can't, War." He did nothing against the desperate man to stop him. "She made her choice. Only she can decide to live or die now." After Gaelen released Tiesen's hands from him, God walked up to her and knelt before his first daughter, looking at her. Ari looked up at the form of John Winchester, at her father, and nodded her head. God placed a hand against her forehead, against the same spot where Tiesen had just kissed her, and began to whisper in Enochian. At that point, many things began to happen.

Castiel came back to life, no sign or scar of what Ari had done to him...

Two shimmering forms began to coalesce in the air...

The Four Horseman knelt next to their youngest sister and began to pray in Babylonian...

Dean and Bobby were trying so hard not to look away from the bright light that was beginning to glow from inside of Ari's body...

Ari began to gasp and pant before she stopped fighting the light...

And then, after some kind of sonic boom that shook the ground, all was silence. God was gone, so was Castiel. Sam and Adam moaned from the ground as they came to from their angelic possessions. Dean and Bobby were in tears as Mary and John Winchester, whole in both body and mind, came forward and greeted their family. But it was the Four Horsemen on the ground that were weeping. Ari was still unconscious, but her wounds were healed. Did God fix her, or did he just kill her? They lifted her up on their shoulders and disappeared.

That was the last that any of the Winchesters would see Ari or the Horsemen for a long time. Bobby tried his best to find out more information on their activities, but they had covered their tracks too well. The Winchesters became a hunting family; after all, it was in their blood. They picked out a house on the edges of Denver and began their life again, trying to pick up the pieces and mend past quarrels. When they weren't on a hunting job around the local cities and towns, Dean and John worked at a local mechanic's shop. Sam never went back to Stanford; instead, he went to a local college and became a teacher in supernatural mythology. He became one of the most sought-after lecturers to speak about the Apocalypse and the connections between different faiths about that same event.

Adam became one of them as well, but he disappeared soon after. He wanted the apple pie life, and he felt that he wouldn't find it with his estranged father. No one ever found out what happened to him.

Chuck finished his books and disappeared as well, but not before sending a complete collection of the Supernatural novels to the reunited Winchesters and to Bobby. At the back on the final book, "Swan Song", Chuck wrote a note for Dean to read.

_"Endings are hard. Any chapped-ass monkey with a keyboard can poop out a beginning, but endings are impossible. You try to tie up every loose end, but you never can. The fans are always gonna bitch. There's always gonna be holes. And since it's the ending, it's all supposed to add up to something. I'm telling you, they're a raging pain in the ass. So, what's it all add up to? It's hard to me, but I'd say this was a test... for all of you. And I think you guys did all right. You were up against good, evil, angels, devils, destiny, and God himself, but you made your own choice. You guys chose family. And, well... Isn't that kinda the whole point? No doubt - endings are hard. But then again... Nothing ever really ends, does it?_

_Dean, don't worry about Ari. I'm sure that she will come back. But as of now, the Prophet of this age is no longer needed._

_Say hi to everyone for me._

_Chuck Shurley aka Carver Edlund"_

_

* * *

_The Winchesters actually were sitting down to a Sunday meal when the street light went out. Underneath it, stood a familiar figure...


	22. Author's Note

**Hello, everyone! I have an announcement to make! ****DIVINE RETRIBUTION HAS A SEQUEL! It is called _Divine Retribution II: Sacrifice_ (working title, for now). Come and check it out on my profile!**


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